Domestic Abuse In Chris Gardner's Childhood

Topic: There should be tougher law enforcement to protect against domestic violence. “The people who could do the most to improve the situation of so many victims being are in fact ourselves. It’s in our hand to stop domestic violence against each other” this statement was said by the famous actor Patrick Stewart. This statement is indeed correct. Domestic violence is an international problem which is everybody’s business even if one is not being abused.

Numerous studies have shown that domestic violence has a huge impact on children and teenagers and can lead to internal and external behavioral problems. These can include aggression, anxiety and depression. When children are exposed to violence or abuse, it affects them tremendously when they become teenagers. Adolescence is a time when a person is figuring out who they are and their self-esteem will develop either confidently or not so confidently. When abuse has been in the picture, it is very difficult for an adolescence to develop to their full potential and delinquency can occur.

The home is supposed to be a safe haven from the dangers of the outside world. What occurs behind closed doors, however, is not always as it appears to be. There are startling numbers of incidents of domestic abuse across the nation. It is a huge social problem that has tremendous costs each year. Contrary to popular belief, domestic abuse is not limited to any particular victimology type or socio-economic status.

Domestic violence has spread across the world. It occurs in many societies, it doesn’t relate to the geographic location, society-economic status, cultural, age or even religious belief, and it often shows effects such as psychological, mental, social and economic, on children, families and the community. Domestic violence is the exploitation of power granted mainly by parents against children. It occurs when the parents attempt physically or psychologically to oblige the children to something against their well. Domestic violence has many forms and include wide range of behaviours as physical abuse which includes using of weapons, violation on body, locking out of the house and deprivation of sleeping, another forms of violence as verbal abuse

It seems that in our society, the complexity of leaving an abusive relationship is completely underacknowleded; we underestimate or almost mock these psychological traps disguised as love set by these type of abusers, a trap that millions of women have been entrapped in each year. Most seem to think this abuse to be something that happens in a very sudden manner, but that’s not true. To put it in layman 's terms: if you put a frog in boiling water, it will jump out, right? So instead you put the frog in warm water and gradually turn up the heat until the water is boiling, then the frog will remain there until it dies. That’s pretty much synopsis of an abusive relationship in simplest terms.

Although one cannot point out for sure the exact reasons of abuse or self-harm, experts working in this area have listed out several factors termed as ‘risk factors’ which places a high chance of an individual to face the abuse. The risk factor explains that the behaviours of a person shows about the chances of experiencing abuse in the future. The major risk factors of abuse are: • Dependency • Severe Illness • Family Conflict • Career Stress • Psychological Problems

It is a shocking fact that “nearly 20 people per minute are physically abuse they their partner in the United States” (NCADV). Thousands of people are affected by abuse but sadly not all get reported to the police. Many do not know that domestic abuse is not just child abuse or physical abuse. Domestic abuse comes in different forms that people can experience in their lives and not know they are experiencing some type of abuse. Countless innocent people are impacted by domestic violence; fortunately organizations such as White Ribbon in Australia and Women Against Abuse are attempting to make a difference to make a change.

Anyone can be a victim. Domestic violence is a major problem in society today, and anyone can be affected by it. Anyone can be a victim of domestic abuse, regardless of your skin color, your intelligence level, your religion, or your sex, or anything else for that matter. Many people don’t truly understand what domestic violence or abuse is. According to the Indiana Coalition Against Domestic Abuse; domestic violence is behavior in any type of relationship used to gain and/or maintain power or control over their partner, and abuse is physical, sexual, emotional, economic or psychological actions or threats used to influence another person.

Domestic violence has been around for many years. It is even mentioned in the bible, Judges 19. Unfortunately, it is still a prevalent issue that is on the rise. Dr. Miller (2009) mentions in his book, “The domestic violence movement, also referred to as the battered women’s movement, has a long history, although it picked up steam with the advent of the feminist movement of the late 1960s and early 1970s. In 1971, Erin Pizzey opened the first battered women’s shelter in Chiswick, England.

Trauma is a part of everyone’s life. Some people are affected outwardly, others are not. Trauma does not have to be a traumatizing event, sometimes it can just be the stress of everyday life taking an overwhelming toll on the body and the mind. Trauma can change a person for the rest of their life. It can change their behavior, personality, and even the size of their hippocampus.