Domestic Violence

Domestic Violence is a very sad and horrible thing for anyone to experience. It makes you wonder how beastly someone can be, to feel comfortable while inflicting physical pain on another person. This topic cannot be over-emphasized as there are millions of people experiencing this form of abuse.

Domestic Violence may also be referred to as Domestic Abuse. It occurs in a domestic setting as the name implies. Domestic violence does not only involve people in intimate relationships, it stems as far as children, elderly people, domestic staff – just basically people living together or in close relationships.

There is a wide range of various forms of domestic violence which include physical, verbal, sexual, emotional, economic etc. it can range from subtle to very violent physical abuse which may include beating, mutilation, inflicting burns, very harsh punishments, choking, acid throwing etc and sometimes, this results in disfigurement or death.

People experiencing domestic violence are often scared to speak up because of the fear of stigma or what the abuser may do to them if he/she finds out they have been spilling so, many times, they bottle up the horror they face at home. This is a very sad and unadvisable thing to do because many times, the victim ends up dying before the truth is revealed and in this type of case, it’s already too late.

Worldwide, the victims of domestic violence are overwhelmingly women but that does not mean that it is limited to the female gender. Some men too face this problem however, more women than men tend to experience more severe forms of violence.

Domestic Violence is one of the most unreported crimes. It often occurs when the abuser believes they are superior, entitled to or their action can be justified. Sometimes, children or other family members tend to feel that such act of violence is acceptable and/or normal. Many abusers do not consider themselves in such light, they feel that the victim deserved it because he/she provoked them into hitting and they believe that they are only trying to correct the victim.

In toxic relationships, usually after a physical abuse, the abuser may try to console the victim by buying gifts and/or apologizing but it never ends there and this grows into a cycle of abuse which may result to physical disabilities, health problems, mental illness etc.

People facing one form of domestic violence or the other should be encouraged to speak up, share with people the experiences faced and if possible, run far away from the abuser. Children also should be cared for. Any child showing signs of domestic violence such as hypervigilance to threats, avoidance or any other form of psychological problem should be given all the support possible and have the case reported. People in abusive relationships are most times advised to leave the relationship and if it’s a case of marriage and you do not necessarily want to get divorced at least the option of separation may be considered. It is better to leave a toxic relationship alive than dead.