Domestic violence is not discriminative in that it is not limit itself any race nationality color or culture. It is not a respecter of persons as it does not limit itself to one’s age, stage, ethnicity, or economic status.
[1]Domestic violence is a pattern of abusive behavior in which a person uses coercion, deception, harassment, humiliation, manipulation, and or forces in order to establish and maintain power and control over the person’s intimate partner or former intimate partner. No one should have to endure abuse at the hand of another, but the fact remains is that it exists throughout the entire world. It is more likely that women more than men will have been or are currently been a victim of an abusive relationship than men. Statistics show that domestic violence accounts for more emergency room visits than almost any others combined. As we dive into the subject if domestic violence, we cannot take it for granted the fact of its existence in the church realm. Faith does not exempt one from violent behaviors; in fact, many abusers use their faith to hide behind.
[2]As we embark upon the journey of uncovering the many aspects of domestic violence, we have to keep in mind the severity and sensitiveness of this subject. Throughout this exploration, it is not uncommon to find that the person that will read this text will discover that they may be a victim or perpetrator and not have realized it. Victims can easily be our daughters, our mothers, aunts, next door neighbors, friends, grandmothers, and that lady in church that you may share a pew with Sunday after Sunday.
Domestic violence and its dysfunction have no face and it is not readily identified. No one no matter how they are viewed by society or any other human deserves to be violated. Domestic violence is not a dysfunction that cannot be minimized nor can it afford to be ignored. Violence is a choice no matter what stereotypes would have one to believe. Too often society, with its judgmental outlook turns its back on victims not offering viable alternative living environments that will aid in the rehabilitation of the victim as well as those affected by the abuse. State jails, prisons, and various other institutions are filled with those whose root cause for their behaviors are untreated abuse. [3]There are two to four million women assaulted per year in the United States. According to the U.S. Surgeon General, the number one cause of injury of women between the ages of 15-44 is domestic violence. What causes a person to become so enraged that they convince themselves that it is okay to victimize another? This is a question that is probably in the hearts and on the mind of the victims who try and trace back the area in their everyday dealings with their intimate partners. In most cases, if the abusers past life is dissected, one will find that much of the abusers action are a direct result of learned behaviors at childhood.[4] A child is shaped by what he or she sees in their adolescent years and if not checked, it becomes a part of their perceptive way of dealing with relationships. Children that are exposed to such conditions are more likely to show signs of aggression, attention disorders, abusive behaviors, and various other forms of childhood distress. Researchers have found that over one-third of divorces are due to men who have adopted the abusive nature witnessed and or endured in their childhood.
[5]Abuse is not always physical, it is mental as well. Not all women are subjected to physical abuse, some experience abuse in other forms such as verbal abuse, humiliation, sexual coercion, and forms of abuse that are of a psychological nature. Just as physical abuse leaves scars; psychological abuse leaves lasting imprints upon the heart and mind. Scars that are of an emotional nature tend to leave a far lasting impression upon ones heart and the pain from it can linger on for years. There is not a big distinction when physical
