Domestic Violence and its Impact

Domestic violence has huge impacts on our lives. It not only affects the victim, it also has an impact on our community and has an impact on a global level. The impact of domestic violence on an individual depends on the type of violence experienced. For example, victims of physical violence have physical injuries. Victims of sexual violence may have physical injuries depending on the severity of violence. These victims also experience emotional and psychological trauma. Children witnessing domestic violence in households also suffer psychologically. Irrespective of the type of domestic violence, most individuals witnessing an assault or experiencing it suffer from mental health issues. The common mental health issues these individuals suffer from are anxiety and depression.

Domestic violence also has huge direct and indirect effects on our community. It impacts our community health and crime rates. This is because children exposed to domestic violence have trouble learning at school and have reduced social skills due to the emotional trauma they are suffering from (1). As they grow, they are more likely to use violence to solve their problems. This places a threat on the safety and security of our community. Pregnant women suffering from domestic violence are more likely to give birth to low birth weight babies (2). Recent research has shown that underweight babies are more likely to develop insulin resistance, glucose tolerance and high blood pressure as they age, increasing their risk of developing heart problems. This shows the indirect effects of domestic violence on an individual’s health.

Moreover, domestic violence has a global impact. Statistics from World Health Organisation shows 35% of women worldwide have experienced intimate partner violence or non-partner sexual violence in their lifetime (3). Many pregnant women, particularly those aged 15-49 have experienced a certain form of domestic violence (physical, emotional or sexual assault) in different countries (4). Research shows that a third of women experience domestic violence in low income countries compared to one in four women in developed countries. The rate of domestic violence in Australia is not much lower than the rates in developing countries. This places an economical burden on our economy as $13.6 billion is spent yearly on domestic violence in Australia (5).

Thus domestic violence is a prevalent and silent issue. It is important for us to be aware of it and promote it for the better wellbeing of individuals suffering from it, and for the better wellbeing of our community and globally.

References:

(1) Community.nsw.gov.au. 2014. effects of domestic violence. [online] Available at: https://www.community.nsw.gov.au/docs_menu/parents_carers_and_families/domestic_and_family_violence/effects_of_domestic_violence_.html [Accessed: 4 Apr 2014].

(2) Community Impact of Domestic Violence. 2014. [e-book] https://pathssk.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/Community-Impact-of-Domestic-Violence2.pdf [Accessed: 4 Apr 2014].

(3) Who.int. 2014. WHO | Violence against women. [online] Available at: https://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs239/en/ [Accessed: 4 Apr 2014].

(4) Profiling Domestic Violence- A Multi-Country Study. 2014. [e-book] https://dhsprogram.com/pubs/pdf/OD31/OD31.pdf [Accessed: 4 Apr 2014].

(5) Browne, R. 2013. Domestic violence becoming 'greatest social epidemic of our time'. [online] Available at: https://www.smh.com.au/national/domestic-violence-becoming-greatest-social-epidemic-of-our-time-20130622-2op6c.html [Accessed: 4 Apr 2014].