Protecting Victims Of Spousal Abuse In Edmonton, Alberta

Protecting Victims of Spousal Abuse in Edmonton, Alberta
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Protecting Victims of Emotional Abuse in Edmonton, Alberta
Introduction
Spousal violence is the use of any form of violence in an intimate relationship. An intimate relationship refers to a relationship between opposite sex or same-sex partners. It could be current and former dating relationships, common-law relationships, married relationships, or individuals who are parents to one or more children. It may be a single act of violence or several acts amounting to a pattern of abuse. Spousal violence cuts across every line of income, geography, and social status. Abuse occurs in every community in the country with thousands of incidents occurring annually. Examples of spousal abuse include physical, emotional (also called psychological), and sexual abuse. Emotional (psychological) abuse is common in Edmonton, Alberta, and needs to be addressed.
Meaning of emotional/psychological abuse
Emotional/psychological abuse entails verbal abuse, ridicule, dominance, or the use of intimate knowledge for degrading a partner. It mainly targets the emotional and psychological wellbeing of the victim (Karakurt & Silver, 2013). Here, both verbal and non-verbal acts are used to hurt the victims. Essentially, emotional abuse entails behaviors that can be used to terrorize the victim without the use of any physical force. In most case, emotional/psychological abuse is a precursor to physical abuse. During the early stages of a relationship, emotional abuse predicts subsequent physical spousal abuse as the relationship continues. Emotional abuse is an important form of abuse among women. A majority of women report that this form of abuse is worse than physical abuse they undergo. Emotional abuse has a critical role in setting up and maintaining an abusive dynamic of a spousal relationship. It may involve yelling, insulting a partner, belittling a partner in front of others, preventing a partner from leaving home, treating a partner like a servant, demanding absolute obedience among others.
Why Spousal abuse goes unreported
The main problem is that a majority of the incidences of emotional abuse by a spouse go unreported. For a long time, spousal abuse was termed as a family matter. Other third parties, including the police, did not have a business in the matter. Talking about any form of spousal abuse was considered inappropriate. It took a lot of time and work by advocates to change the attitude of the public regarding spousal abuse. The changes caused authorities to charge the perpetrators routinely and also develop domestic assault teams to address the issue. Nonetheless, the problem persists and deepens. Statistics from the Alberta Council of Women's Shelters (ACWS) indicate that women in Alberta face an increased risk of being killed by an intimate partner. ACWS further released statistics in November 2018, showing that crisis calls were up 10% in just two years (Bartko, 2018).
Since the term “abusive relationship” carries so much negative stigma, victims usually deny that they are in one. It is difficult for people to admit that someone they love is abusive. When it occurs, the victims cannot understand how someone they love is capable of abusing them. Others do not think that emotional abuse constitutes an abusive relationship since they believe that an abusive relationship is one that involves physical abuse. Additionally, a majority of the victims tend to blame themselves for emotional abuse. They may blame it on something that they have done and justify the actions of the partner. The victims feel ashamed and fail to recognize the adverse effects of the abuse on their lives.
Effects of emotional abuse
A majority of the households where spousal violence occurs have a child/children present. In such a case, the violence involves more than one person. Children who grow up witnessing the abuse of their parents are more likely to be abusive adults or victims of abuse (Edmonton Police Service, 2019). Furthermore, while physical violence may pose the most danger, emotional abuse is also severe. It can destroy the self-worth of the victim and cause him/her to develop low self-esteem. As the emotionally abusive partner continues with the abuse, the victims consider themselves worthless. Their sense of self-worth goes reduces, which causes them to develop low self-esteem.
Furthermore, emotional abuse in spousal relationships can also lead to depression and anxiety. Individuals undergoing depression and anxiety as a result of emotional abuse find it challenging to undertake day-to-day activities. For instance, they may find it difficult to perform well in the workplace. They may also have a problem performing house chores and other essential functions at home, like caring for children. Additionally, emotional abuse has the potential to make the victim feel helpless and lonely (Rakovec-Felser, 2014). The emotional abuser makes the victims fell helpless through controlling behaviors and manipulations. With time, the victims come to believe that they need the abuser to survive. As a result, the victims become dependent on the abuser and find it challenging to quit the relationship.
Emotional abuse causes so much confusion in the lives of the victims. This is mainly because it can be subtle and elusive. Individuals do not realize that emotional abuse is happening, no matter how self-aware they are. As a result, an abusive partner gets more opportunities to continue perpetrating the abuse. The abused partner is unable to stop the perpetrator from continuing with the abuse. The victims recognize that they have been undergoing emotional abuse when it is too late, and damage had occurred.
Signs of emotional abuse
To protect the victims of spousal emotional abuse, it is critical to highlight some of the signs of victims undergoing it. Despite the denial associated with emotional abuse, there are various signs that individuals are undergoing it. Firstly, victims feel isolated from their family and friends. The abused partners alienate themselves from their family and friends, meaning less support system, hence giving the abusive partner more control (Thornton, 2017). Secondly, abusive partners tend to call the victims selfish or inconsiderate when they ask for something. The abusive partners use this approach to control and determine the sense of self of the victims to ensure that the victims are always fixed to them. Thirdly, victims of emotional abuse are ridiculed, dismissed, and made to feel that they only imagine problems that do not exist (Thornton, 2017). The abusive partners deny facts and challenge the memory of the victims in an attempt to make the victims question their judgment and perception of reality. Additionally, emotionally abusive partners withhold attention or affection in an attempt to punish their spouses. Withholding love serves to “teach the victims a lesson.” Lastly, emotionally abusive partners exhibit controlling behaviors like fear and intimidation. They use constant criticism, harsh tone, and name calling to intimidate the...