CJ 3300 MOD 6 PROJECT

Running Head: DOMESTIC VIOLENCE 1

DOMESTIC VIOLENCE 1

Domestic Violence

Ricardo Mathis

5/31/2021

Domestic Violence and Control

Domestic violence is the leading cause of injury to women between the ages of fifteen and forty-nine in the United States, as stated in the text. (Victimology, Third Edition Pg.113). Domestic violence is a form of control behavior utilized by one partner to maintain power over the other. For instance, in this case, Eddie has power over the lady. It means that he is the violent partner in the relationship and the lady is the victim. Domestic violence can lead to adverse effects such as physical, emotional, or mental harm (United Nations, par. 1). Eddie’s partner is undergoing both physical and mental harm. She is in fear because she does not know what will happen next or if the behavior is due to past experiences. The paper aims to discuss Eddie’s violent behavior toward his partner and other forms of domestic violence.

Eddie exerts power and control over his partner by controlling her every move. The obvious way is by cutting the connection from her family and friends and making her stay at home. Also, he beats her up when she is not home within ten minutes of being outside (Domestic Violence Personal Stories, par. 2). He bruises her on her arm, which is a physical injury. The less obvious ways are when he goes to her workplace to see what she is doing and demand things. He also makes sure she does not talk to her co-workers and has someone following her around to investigate what she is doing outside. Therefore, Eddie exerts power on his partner in all directions, including when she is indoors and outside.

Domestic violence in this case was preceded by other forms of abuse, such as physical and emotional abuse. This is a form of intimate partner abuse as stated in the text (Victimology, Third Edition Pg.114). Physical abuse was when Eddie would beat her up when she is late from any place. Eddie would even make up a story to give her a beating, a form of physical abuse. Emotional abuse takes place when Eddie harms her and causes her to have many negative thoughts. She fears because she does not know what Eddie is up to with her life (Domestic Violence Personal Stories, par. 3). Thus, she experiences both physical and emotional harm in the process of domestic violence.

Eddie isolates and controls the victim by making her stay in the house and cutting connection with friends and family. Eddie does it like when his partner goes to work because he feels like she will talk to many people. He also does not like when she goes to her parents’ house or when they go out. She is not allowed to talk to her friends. He controlled her every move. When she is left alone in the house, Eddie would call every five minutes to ensure that she has not left the house (Domestic Violence Personal Stories, par. 3). If she does not pick up when he calls, he can come home to check up on her. He wanted his partner to do whatever he said without complaining or arguing.

There is more to domestic violence than physical abuse. It can also involve emotional abuse, such as instilling fear in the victim. Other forms of violence include sexual abuse, female genital mutilation, marital rape, and killing, among other (Ram, par. 1). When a woman is emotionally abused, she may not go to an emergency room or even report the acts because at times the victim believes that she may have deserved it, or so the text states (Victimology, Third Edition Pg.115). Women are the most common victims of such abuse, but men can also be victims of violence such as physical abuse and death. Sexual abuse primarily affects women where they are thought to be sex slaves to men. Men control their bodies, and they can use them whenever they feel like it. Death can be due to physical abuse, which causes harm and leads to death. Thus, domestic violence is more than physical abuse.

Some victims may find it hard to leave their abusers because of several reasons. Some feel like they will lose a lot when they leave, such as financial investments and children. Some victims are threatened not to have custody of their children when they leave. Some do not find their cases to be serious for them to leave (Walker, pg. 6). Other victims are afraid to be judged by family and friends because they will be viewed as bad. For instance, in the case, the victim tells her mother that she will be okay while she is not because she fears his partner (Domestic Violence Personal Stories, par. 6). The victim keeps putting her hopes high that Eddie will change one day, which has not been the case. That is why she has not left her partner even though she is hurt every day.

In conclusion, domestic violence can occur to anyone in a relationship, either male or female. In this case, Eddie is the abuser while his partner is the victim. She experiences physical abuse because Eddie beats her up whenever she does something he does not like. She is an example of a victim who does not leave the abuser because of unexplainable reasons. She has hope that he will change, which is unlikely to happen. Violence also takes other forms, such as emotional abuse and sexual abuse. The cycle theory of violence sets forth the dynamics of battering in intimate partner abuse (Victimology, Third Edition Pg.116). Therefore, such cases need to be reported to stop the act. If not reported, many people will continue suffering without mentioning which affects their mental health.

Word count: 1065

References

Domestic Violence Personal Stories. (n.d.). http://www.mental-health-today.com/ptsd/domestic/stories.htm.

Ram, A., Victor, C. P., Christy, H., Hembrom, S., Cherian, A. G., & Mohan, V. R. (2019). Domestic violence and its determinants among 15–49-year-old women in a rural block in South India. Indian journal of community medicine: official publication of Indian Association of Preventive & Social Medicine, 44(4), 362.

United Nations. (n.d.). What Is Domestic Abuse? United Nations. https://www.un.org/en/coronavirus/what-is-domestic-abuse.

Victimology, Legal, Psychological, and Social Perspectives Third Edition

Walker, A., Lyall, K., Silva, D., Craigie, G., Mayshak, R., Costa, B., ... & Bentley, A. (2020). Male victims of female-perpetrated intimate partner violence, help-seeking, and reporting behaviors: A qualitative study. Psychology of Men & Masculinities, 21(2), 213.