Domestic abuse

Another post on a topic we are not covering on the module. Domestic abuse is an extremely violent and aggressive type of abuse. Ranging from verbal abuse such as swearing to severe physical abuse that has resulted in deaths.

In 2008 The Daily Telegraph wrote a piece on domestic abuse. According to The Daily Telegraph 'Recent figures show nine women were killed as a result of domestic violence in the first four months of this year compared to 11 in the whole of the previous year.' The problem with statistics is that many women or men would be reluctant to report the crime as they may fear further abuse or feel as though they must be the problem because the relentless abuse has not stopped. According to Women's Aid ' on average, 2 women a week are killed by a current or previous male partner'. This is a shocking number and it shows us the severity of the problem. Having had a family member who was a victim of domestic abuse I have seen the effects it has first hand. The victim goes into a shell and begins to blame themselves as they see no other alternative. It is devastating and it causes a lot of emotional distress. There is no other way of 'arguing the other viewpoint' as the person who commits the crime is simply a coward as they know they will not get a response.

There are many organisations such as Women's Aid that provide support for women. There are also many adverts that are being televised. Including a very controversial one starring Keira Knightley. I will post a link at the end of the blog. It uses shock tactics and it is very effective.

Articles used - http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/opinion/stop-the-domestic-violence-toll/story-e6frezz0-1111117352253

Other links - http://www.womensaid.org.uk/domestic_violence_topic.asp?section=0001000100220036&sectionTitle=Statistics

Video - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KTC6_IbEveA (this video is very graphic).