SOCW 6361

Social Advocacy

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The social problem to be addressed in this case had been outlined in week 3. Domestic violence is a common problem in society, and some intervention is needed. Domestic violence, in most cases, ends affecting the family unit and mostly the children in particular (US Department of Health and Human Services, 2018). There are many negative impacts associated with domestic violence, with the effects being felt by the family and messes up the lives of children. The policy chosen in this case was the protection of children against domestic violence as well as reconciliation measures put in place after the incidences of domestic violence.

The particular social problem that will be considered in social advocacy is on the domestic violence effect on the children. Children sometimes are not fully aware of what is going on, and they end up being affected by domestic violence incidences. Children raised from violent homes have been seen to have psychological development problems (US Department of Health and Human Services, 2018). According to behavioral psychology, the environment that one lives in as a child majorly influences behaviors they develop. With respect to children, they learn most of their behaviors from their surroundings. These children will grow up to extend behaviors learnt from their childhood into the society and therefore, a continuation of domestic violence in the next generation. It is the duty of the partners to ensure that the child is not involved in domestic violence incidences. The parents should put away the child from domestic violence physically and emotionally. Through policy advocacy, the partners will be enlightened on the importance of protecting their children from any harm that may come along with domestic violence. By making the parents understand that it is their duty to do these, it will go a long way in reducing cases of domestic violence effect on children.

The main plan in advocating for domestic violence effect reduction on children is by letting the parents understand their role in this. Considering that the children are under the parents, anything that affects the parents will end up affecting the children too. It is, therefore, the duty of the parents to ensure that this chain of activities is broken and effects are not extended to the children. One of the ways that children will be affected by domestic violence is the lack of a balanced diet. Considering it is the duty of the parents to check after the health of their children, this shows a failure of the parents in playing their role. After cases of domestic violence, the partners will mostly start neglecting their duties as partners to the child with providing meals being one of the responsibilities they commonly neglect (Martin, 2012). In the case that the partner's domestic violence will end up affecting the children, they will be held liable for any effects extended to the children. Domestic violence reconciliation cases are not the only place that can be used to pass on this information. Considering that some partners who are having incidences of domestic violence will not come in for reconciliation and counselling sessions, the community at large should also be informed about this. One of the ways to educate the community at large on the issue of domestic violence is carrying out awareness campaigns. The role of the campaigns is to inform the parents on their role of child protection in domestic violence incidences. This advocacy will go a far way in reducing the cases of domestic violence effect on children while also encouraging the reduction of domestic violence.

This is because when the parents are enlightened about the harm that domestic violence extends to their children, most of them may end up searching for other ways to solve their conflict. Domestic violence, in some cases, is used as a way of solving conflicts between partners due to lack of information on the effects associated with this. If only the partners would be made to understand the harm that they extend to their children, then they would also understand that domestic violence is not helpful at all (Jansson, 2018). Domestic violence does not help to solve any conflict between the partners, and if they understand this, then this advocacy plan will be very effective. The parents should also be made to realise that it is their role to ensure child protection from domestic violence. The advocacy will also go ahead and call for policy creation to hold the parents liable for any effects extended to the children from domestic violence. Therefore, what most partners lack is information concerning the effects of domestic violence on their children and how they can protect their children from this effect. Awareness creation on this issue will go ahead and solve this problem.

With policy advocacy, it cannot be a one-time thing if a long-term effect in society is expected. It is not just a time thing since change is a process that has to take time. Policy advocacy, therefore, has to trust the process and ensure enough time is invested in changing this problem in society. There are also new partners who are coming up, and they also need to be educated about the effects of domestic violence on their children. If it is made a one-time thing, it will not work towards permanently eliminating the problem in society but just work for a certain period of time. For this reason, it is expected that the problem will erupt again after some time. Policy advocacy should, therefore, be continued to ensure a long-term effect on society.

Reference

Dunlap, A. (2013). 10 Skills Every Social Worker Needs. SWHELPER. Retrieved 11 October

States: The ongoing effect of Reformed theology and social Darwinism on attitudes toward the poor and social welfare policy and practice. Journal of Social Work, 12(1), 51–64.

Midgley, J., & Livermore, M. M. (Eds.) (2008). The handbook of social policy (2nd ed.).

Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications. Chapter 6: "The Impact of Social Policy" (pp.

83–100) (PDF) 

US Department of Health &Human Services. (2018). Legislation and Policies Related to

Domestic Violence - Child Welfare Information Gateway. Childwelfare.gov. Retrieved 11

October 2020, from