Domestic Violence on Children

When such morals discriminate against a particular gender or age in the community, the same effect is devolved to the family unit, where it culminates into violence. Putting all bias against gender equality movements aside, women are most common victims of this evil. This particular scenario is a hard nut to crack mainly because most victims of abuse retreat into the shadows of silence and thus most cases go unreported. Such abuse may take several forms namely: physical, emotional, economical, religious and sexual abuse. Contrary to conventional opinion, domestic violence is based on learned behavior and thus the blame cannot be pinned on impulse, drugs, depression or anger. They do not have to be physically present in the scene of violence to be affected, children have often described traumatic memories of events they heard of.

Research shows that the impact on the social and emotional development can begin while the child is still in the womb of a distressed mother undergoing domestic abuse. Social and emotional development. Effects involve what affects the mind and behavioral aspects such as intellectual abilities, behaviors, and mental abilities. At the same time, the child can undergo physiological and physical development entails what causes bodily effects, such as structural differences in body, or sexual orientation. Behavioral effects The emotional responses of children in domestic violence families include sleep disturbances, guilt, sadness, shame, anger, and fear. These children may come to perceive of violence as an acceptable behavior and eventually become an abuser or the abused. Some of the signals may involve nightmares, attempting to act tough, nightmares, bedwetting and distrust. The child may also lie so as to escape confrontation as a response to domestic violence.

“The Bobo Doll Experiment “conducted by Albert Bandura( 1977) served to show that children adopt similar behavior as their role model, children who were exposed to aggressive environment responded by acting aggressively themselves. In order to cope with emotional distress, some children turn to drugs hoping it be a solution but they end up suffering adverse effects of addiction and further health-related complications. Due to poor eating habits and anxiety, these children may suffer from fatigue and low concentration levels leading to poor academic performance. Prevention Methods Primary/early intervention This involve the programs that are aimed at shaping the views and behaviors of people before any form of abuse have occurred. This will take into consideration of conducting survey in various households and acquire relevant information concerning the early signs that may lead to child abuse through domestic violence.

The data collected can therefore be used in constructing remedies for the problem. Besides, the federal government has the mandate of ensuring the offenders face the full force of the law. This is aimed towards preventing similar occurrences in the future. Conclusion It is clear that the effects of domestic violence are more pronounced in children than in adults. When two giants fight there is no doubt that it is the grass that6 suffer the most. They are faced with short-term effects as well as long-term effects that are going to shape up their futures.  Journal of Marriage and the Family, 624-636. Holt, Stephanie, Helen Buckley, and Sadhbh Whelan. The impact of exposure to domestic violence on children and young people: A review of the literature. Child abuse & neglect 32. Johnson, M.

Levendosky, Alytia A. and Sandra A. Graham-Bermann. Parenting in battered women: The effects of domestic violence on women and their children. Journal of family violence 16.