Power Point Presentation

Domestic Violence in the United States

Advocacy Plan

Domestic violence is a form of violence that occurs within a relationship. Many times it is defined as violence between partners but the reality is it also involves household violence such as violence towards children by their parents or vice versa, or violence between siblings. Forms of domestic violence may be sexual, psychological, oral, bodily, and financial abuse. It has been identified by the government of the United States of America, other states and non-governmental organizations as a social problem, necessitating the need to legalize policies that would safeguard the right of every individual that goes through this form of violence, particularly women. Victimization from this form of violence has transcended from the sexual orientation and gender, with minorities such as the LGBT community facing this issue as well. The main issue of concern, therefore, is the rising number of female victims as a result of domestic violence, specifically women from marginalized groups like Native American women, African American women and women from other marginalized groups (Bettinger-Lopez et al., 2011). This has been made so with rising cases of increased intimate terrorism, a forced attempt to hold control, power, and assert control over the victim physically and emotionally. This form of abuse has been noted in families of police officers as compared to other families, raising concerns on security of the society in general.

Criminal laws allows domestic violence victims to report to the relevant experts, so that the offender may be arrested and persecuted for the act. Civil law allow the victim to obtain a protection order against the offender. These measures may be obtained at the same time. The federal Government also has a law that monitors released domestic violence offenders as a form of rehabilitation, and for offenders who have not been sentenced to a prison term. The Board of Immigration Appeals also formed an asylum for women who face domestic violence in their home countries and have been verified to be eligible. There were also hotlines linked to various police departments where victims would call to ask for help in the event of an attack.

Several acts have also been put in place to end domestic violence as a whole. This includes the Violence against Women Acts, which were signed in 1994, 2000 and 2005. These acts allowed victim representatives and government run organizations to collaborate and work together to create prevention measures and support systems for the victims. The Family Violence Prevention and Services Act is an act that provides funding to support victims and their children by providing violence prevention programs, shelter and developing service agencies that help on community levels. This is in the form of formula grants, and toll-free hotlines. The Domestic Violence Prevention Enhancement and Leadership through Alliances (DELTA) is a program that was founded to act towards domestic violence by understanding the factors that influence this form of violence and develop control measures around them (Pahl, 2016). This is done by designing a model that shows the link between personal, mutual, communal, and societal issues that instigate violence. The Domestic Violence Offender Gun Ban, also referred to as the Lautenberg Amendment was enacted in 1996 and would prohibit gun ownership by individuals arrested for committing this offense or those who are served with a restraining order for domestic violence. This applies in all 50 states America.

Some of the Acts fail to give a long-term Federal Court solution for victims that face domestic violence. This is because it was invalidated by the Supreme Court in 2000, based on a conclusion that such an action was not bound by the powers of the Congress. Similarly, penalties such as restraining orders did not serve much purpose since they did not limit any form of violence against the victim. The offender could easily gain access to the victim and cause more harm. Victims are required to provide proof of domestic violence which may be difficult to prove in some situations, making it hard for some victims to come forward and report the acts carried out against them. Some victims are scared of testifying in court. Police protection ma limit the options victims have to protect themselves from their offenders. Some jurisdictions provide inter-spousal tort immunity for example in the state of Georgia and Louisiana (Malsch & Smeenk, 2017). The current action steps that have been set include providing grants such as the Formula grants that facilitate the programs meant to help the victims of domestic violence.

There should be a ratified policy that would address the health issues the victims may face particularly regarding their reproductive health. For example policies that limit women to their option of abortion. Currently, the policies in action have raised awareness on the need to end domestic violence and has empowered victims to come forward.

Policy Brief

Issue of concern

Rising number of domestic violence tendencies in the country.

Severity of the Problem

An approximated 2.5 million people are victims of rape or physical abuse each year.

Current efforts to address the problem

· Criminal laws and Civil laws

· Government Asylum

· Several acts have also been put in place including: the Family Violence Prevention and Services Act The Domestic Violence Prevention Enhancement and Leadership through Alliances (DELTA), the Violence against Women Acts, and the Domestic Violence Offender Gun Ban

Barriers and Challenges

· Some of the Acts such as VAWA fail to provide a permanent Federal Court Remedy for victims that face domestic violence.

· Victims are required to provide proof of domestic violence which may be difficult to prove in some situations, making it hard for some victims to come forward and report the acts carried out against them. Some victims are scared of testifying in court.

· Police protection may limit the options victims have to protect themselves from their offenders.

Recommendations

· The State should explore new redresses to promote accountability and address the current gender discrimination against women, allowing them to seek protection from gender based violence.

· A possible redress to this would be engage in public education programs that are against domestic violence.

· There should be national dialogues that publicly hold informed community dialogues that address the effectiveness of expedited proceedings, prosecution policies and arrest policies.

· Preexisting mechanisms should be reevaluated since inadequate intervention has been witnessed in such cases.

Requested Action Steps

There should be a ratified policy that would address the health issues the victims may face particularly regarding their reproductive health. For example policies that limit women to their option of abortion

Measures of Success.

Currently, the policies in action have raised awareness on the need to end domestic violence and has empowered victims to come forward.

Advocacy Speech

Following the risen cases in domestic violence in the country, especially towards women, it would be unfair to ignore how it affects them, considering it affects the economy in general. As such, it is the responsibility of every individual to ensure that the rights of women are preserved and they are protected just as required by the constitution. The best individuals to aid in this situation are members of the congress who act as the representatives of the citizens of different states and can plead on behalf of marginalized women and the total women population. They can do this by identifying policies that would need to be ratified such that they meet the specifications provided by the constitution on human rights. It would also take the voice of women leaders in congress to air out their concerns regarding the same, and necessitate the need to find sustainable solutions to domestic violence. Mediation from local, state and Federal governments would in turn encourage non-governmental organizations and women groups to take up the issue and probe to find workable solutions.

References

Bettinger-Lopez, C., Natelson, R., Brandt-Young, C., & Romes, A. (2011). Domestic Violence in the United States. A Preliminary Report prepared for Rashida Manjoo, U.N. Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women. Reproductiverights.org. Retrieved 18 March 2018, from https://www.reproductiverights.org/sites/crr.civicactions.net/files/newsletter/DV%20in%20the%20US_Br%20Paper%20to%20SR%20on%20VAW.pdf

Malsch, M., & Smeenk, W. (Eds.). (2017). Family violence and police response: Learning from research, policy and practice in European countries. Taylor & Francis.

Pahl, J. (Ed.). (2016). Private violence and public policy: The needs of battered women and the response of the public services. Routledge.