Ir al contenido



VIOLENCE​



DOMESTIC​


When we hear the term ‘domestic violence,’ it often conjures images of physical altercations and bruises. However, the reality is far more complex and insidious. Domestic violence is not just about the visible scars; it’s about the systematic undermining of a person’s autonomy, self-worth, and safety. This blog will peel back the layers to reveal the multifaceted nature of domestic violence, providing a comprehensive understanding that goes beyond the stereotypes.

Family violence is the action or omission that a member of a family group exercises against another and that produces non-accidental damage in the physical or mental aspect. It should be noted that violence is called something that is carried out with force and abruptness, or that is done against one's will and pleasure. It is a deliberate behavior that can cause physical or mental harm to another subject and that generally seeks to obtain or impose something by force. On the other hand, the family is the main form of organization of human beings. It is a social grouping based on ties of consanguinity (such as filiation between parents and children) or on the establishment of a socially recognized bond (such as marriage).

TYPES OF FAMILY VIOLENCE

Among the main types of abuse or violence that occur within a family, two large groups must be highlighted. Thus, in the first place there is the physical, which is what manifests itself through serious injuries, or through other minor ones, which do not require medical assistance, but which also cause great damage at all levels to the victim. Secondly, there is emotional family violence, which is that in which the victim does not suffer physically but on a sentimental level. In this case, the aforementioned manifests itself through rejection, ignorance, terror or isolation. This type of violence is also punishable by law, although it is a crime that is not usually reported. The thing is that the victim feels fear, shame and even guilt for denouncing a member of her own family.

THE ABUSER AND THE VICTIM

Among the main signs of identity that we can highlight that every abuser has are his inability to express any type of affection, low self-esteem, not knowing how to control his impulses and also having been a victim of abuse, by his environment, during his childhood. For their part, victims of family violence usually have in common characteristics such as being submissive, also having low self-esteem, being conformist with what they believe is what they have to live and also having problems showing their keen. As we mentioned above, family violence can also be exercised through the omission of obligations and responsibilities. For example, when a father abandons his child and does not provide her with the food and care she needs.

Although the causes of family violence are a complex problem, several factors are known that contribute to it. These include poverty, unemployment, other exogenous pressures, attitudes of cultural acceptance of violence to resolve disputes, substantial abuse (especially alcohol), poor parenting skills, ambiguous family roles, unrealistic hopes of other family members, conflicts interpersonal relationships in the family, psychological or physical vulnerability (real or apparent) of the victims to the aggressors, the aggressor's concern for power, control and family social isolation, among others.


  • Alcoholism: a large percentage of women who are attacked by their marital partners are under the influence of alcohol.
  • Lack of awareness in the inhabitants of a society: they believe that this is the best way to do things.
  • Strong ignorance that comes from not knowing a better way to solve things
  • Not being able to control impulses.
  • Domestic violence is the greatest cause of violence: a child who grows up in a conflictive and inharmonious environment must, surely, be a problematic person with few personal principles.
  • Lack of understanding towards children: many mothers mistreat their children, thus generating violence.
  • Drug addiction: many people take drugs to be able to be what they really are not, to escape reality, causing a lot of violence.
  • Media.
  • Absence of communication and precarious human relationships.
  • Economic dependence of the victim.

Family violence can have different types of consequences, although it mainly talks about physical and psychological damage to health.

Among the physical damages are injuries, which range from minor cuts with the use of sharp weapons (for example knives, forks), ecchymoses (blows, bruises) and fractures, reaching chronic disability. A high percentage of these injuries require medical treatment, although usually people who suffer from these injuries do not take it because they try to hide what is happening to them.


In addition to the aforementioned consequences, family violence causes a weakening of physical defenses due to the stress caused by abuse, self-neglect and a greater proclivity to take risks. It is very common that, as a result of abuse, the person suffers from autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, lupus erythematosus or that they resort to alcohol and drugs to disguise their pain, among other disorders.


Another consequence is unwanted pregnancy, whether due to rape or not using contraceptive methods; Some women are afraid to discuss the use of contraception with their partners for fear of being beaten or abandoned. This risk of unwanted pregnancy brings many additional problems. For example, if childbearing occurs during early or middle adolescence, before girls are biologically and psychologically mature, it is associated with adverse health outcomes for both mother and child. Infants may be premature, low birth weight, or small for their age.


When an unwanted pregnancy occurs, many women resort to abortion. In countries where abortion is illegal, expensive or difficult to obtain, women may resort to illegal abortions, sometimes with deadly consequences.


In children, the consequences of family violence translate into injuries, which are caused while they try to defend their mothers.

Family violence causes important psychological consequences in people, although its degree varies according to variables such as personality factors, coping skills, own resources, social support and specific characteristics of the abuse (the duration and degree of violence).

The most significant clinical alterations are:

– Anxiety, which is produced by the mixture of repeated and intermittent violence with periods of regret and tenderness, causes alert and permanent startle responses, feelings of fear, difficulties with concentration, irritability and a state of hypervigilance. Likewise, the victim also presents sleep disorders, nightmares and obsessive thoughts about the abuse and the abuser.

– Depression, loss of self-esteem and guilt are other consequences caused by violence, since the victim believes that the behavior of their aggressor depends on their own behavior and therefore feels responsible and tries again and again to change. the abuser's behaviors. However, when he observes that his expectations fail, he develops feelings of guilt and failure: lying, tolerating abuse, among other things.


The chronic psychological discomfort in which the victim finds herself produces an alteration in her way of thinking that makes her feel incapable of seeking help, protecting her children and herself, or taking appropriate measures.

– Social isolation, which causes the victim to depend on her partner (when the aggressor is the partner) socially and materially. The abuser increasingly increases control over his victim, who feels more vulnerable to society and the fear of facing an uncertain and dangerous future becomes chronic.

– Psychosomatic disorders, which manifest themselves in the person who suffers from violence with headaches, hair loss, loss of appetite, chronic anxiety, fatigue, intestinal problems, menstrual disorders, etc.


Visits to the family doctor to consult these ailments are common while hiding the true cause that causes them.

– Sexual disorders, in which the attacked person loses sexual interest.

– Ultimately suicide, which occurs mainly due to emotional and physical exhaustion. The deaths are dramatic testimony to the scarcity of options available to women to escape violent relationships.

Family violence is generally directed towards women, and therefore, children are always witnesses and indirect victims of the situation. Likewise and frequently, they suffer abuse directly and experience the same type of violent acts as the mother. The most frequently detected reactions are symptoms of anxiety and depression, feelings of low self-esteem, problems in social relationships, aggressive behavior and difficulties in school performance.

The psychological consequences of violence during early childhood and preschool age are related to the development of attachment. In addition, disorders in the relationship with peers, withdrawal behaviors, cognitive delays and difficulties in school adaptation are observed.


During middle childhood (ages 6 to 11), problems affect socio-emotional development. Minors show difficulties in their relationships with their peers with aggressive behavior. They also experience feelings of low self-esteem, learning problems, and high levels of anxiety and depression.


In adolescence, symptoms are related to attitudes of excessive responsibility, low levels of self-esteem, the appearance of aggressive behaviors and deficits in academic performance. When the abuse disappears and the family situation stabilizes, the passage of time and the normalization of the pace of life often make it easier to overcome the psychological consequences.

Currently, family violence that children carry out on their parents has increased considerably. A fact that is the result not only of various disruptions within the family, but also of having allowed everything to those and not having known how to impose rules of conduct, behavior and obligations on them. Family violence, on the other hand, includes cases of sexual abuse, even within a marriage. That is the case of a man who forces, pressures or conditions his wife to have any type of sexual relationship without the woman having the will to do so.