Domestic Violence  
Some people may be unfamiliar with the term ‘domestic violence’ but will recognise the term ‘domestic abuse’.

By expressing this specific act as ‘violence’ instead of ‘abuse’ highlights the importance the Government, law officials and aid agencies put on its impact and consequences.

In the eyes of the Law, domestic violence has a specific definition; "Any incident of threatening behaviour, violence or abuse (psychological, physical, sexual, financial or emotional) between adults who are or have been intimate partners or family members, regardless of gender or sexuality."

Although this behaviour has now been termed as domestic ‘violence’, not all the behaviour in this category need be physically 'violent' e.g. by the Government’s own definition, it could be psychological, financial or emotional – none of which may involve actual physical violence but may involve aggression, cruelty, sadism or hostility (all various forms of ‘violence’).

In short, domestic violence is one person exerting systematic abusive power and control over another.

Domestic violence can be experienced by women and men whatever their age, ability, race, colour, class, religion or sexuality and the violence can begin at any stage of a relationship and may even continue after the relationship has ended.

This definition can include forced marriages and so-called 'honour crimes'.

It is usually women who are at the receiving end of domestic violence, and it is often men who are responsible. However, men are also victims of domestic violence from female partners.

Domestic violence also exists within gay, lesbian, bi-sexual and transgender relationships.

 
Domestic Violence Against Women
In the UK, police receive a call from the public for assistance for domestic violence every minute of every day. This leads to police receiving an estimated 1,300 calls each day or over 570,000 each year. (Stanko, 2000). However, according to the British Crime Survey, only 40.2% of actual domestic violence crime is reported to the police. (Dodd et al, July 2004).

The statistics on violence against
women in the UK make grim reading;
It is estimated that every 20 seconds a woman in the UK is hit by her partner. (Home Office, 1999)
1 in every 3 women will suffer from domestic violence at some point in their lives. (Home Office, 1999)
1 in 8 women are repeatedly assaulted by their partner. (British Crime Survey, 1996)
On average a woman is assaulted 35 times before reporting it to the police. (British Crime Survey, 1996)
The psychological effects of domestic violence can include depression, anxiety, post traumatic stress disorder, flashbacks, nightmares, exaggerated startle response and suicide attempts. (James-Hanman, 1999).

3 in 10 women using health services have been hurt by someone they know or live with. (British Medical Association, 2007)
Almost a third of domestic violence starts during pregnancy, and existing violence often escalates during it. (Home Office 2004)
Every 3 days a woman in the UK dies due to injuries received from their violent partner. (Home Office, 1999)

But domestic violence against women is not unique to the UK. It occurs in virtually every community, every culture and every country across the world.

It is so prolific that the United Nations General Assembly has designated the 25th November as the ‘International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women’ and has asked for Governments, relevant agencies, bodies, and other international organisations and non-governmental organisations, to organise activities on the 25th November designed to raise public awareness of the problem of violence against women.

Many studies have been conducted into violence against women and some have tried to make sense of the male’s actions citing alcoholism, stress from work, depression, peer pressure, retirement and unemployment as factors to blame for instigating the violence however it would appear that in almost 50% of these cases the women described the violence as their partner’s ‘normal behaviour’.


For help, advice or further information regarding Domestic Violence Against Women, contact Women’s Aid , Refuge
or the Women & Equality Unit.

For a self defence course
email Security And Safety.

 
Domestic Violence Against Men
It is now readily recognised that 1 in 3 women will become a victim of domestic violence at some point in their lives but do men also suffer domestic violence? It would seem they do – but this statistic tends to be neglected for two main reasons;
1. Males who are victims of domestic violence often see this as a slur on their manhood. A case of “It would be bad enough to be beaten up by a man but to be beaten up by a woman” – well, very few men would admit to that happening. And this is the crux of the problem. Men can be so engrossed in being macho that they are reluctant to come forward and report domestic violence to police, welfare officials, etc.
2. Males who are the perpetrators of domestic violence often use being the victim themselves as an excuse. A case of “She hit me first so I hit her back”. This makes dealing with actual male victims much more difficult and on the few occasions when the police are called, it is the male victims, as opposed to the female perpetrators, that are usually arrested. (Stitt and Macklin 1995)

In 2007, the British Medical Association revealed that 2 out of 10 men have been victims of domestic violence and 29% of men in gay relationships have been a victim of domestic violence at some stage in their lives. But as far back as the 1996 Scottish Crime Survey, 4% of men living in Scotland have reported regular violence or threats from their partners or ex-partners.

Initially, you would expect to hear that the cases of Scottish women reporting violence or threats would be much greater when compared to men, but there is only a small difference: 6% of women compared to 4% of men.

Resources for information on violence against men can be found, although they are admittedly not as abundant as those for violence against women.
They do however include;
‘Battered Husbands’: The Hidden Victims of Domestic Violence, Stitt and Macklin, 1995.
The British and Scottish Crime Surveys. Domestic Abuse Against Men In Scotland, Scottish Executive. Abused Men Phillip W. Cook, 1997.
Hitting Home, HM Inspectorate of Constabulary, 1997. Northern Ireland Domestic Violence Forum: Male Victims of Domestic Violence, Brogden & Harkin, 2000.
The US National Violence Against Women Survey Tjaden and Thoennes, 2000.
The Scottish Partnership on Domestic Abuse for the Scottish Executive (Henderson, 2000).
Abused Men In Australia and New Zealand, Lewis and Sarantakos, 2001.
Domestic Abuse Recorded by the Police (Scottish Executive 2000, 2001).
Male Victims of Domestic Violence (The Home Office, 2003).
And information from the following studies: Gondolf, 1988. Hammerton, 1992. Straus, 1993. Newburn & Stanko, 1994. Cook, 1997. Hearn, 1998. Wolflight, 1999. Mirrlees-Black, 1999. Flood, 1999. Soothill et al., 1999. Brogden & Harkin, 2000. Gadd, 2000. Kershaw et al., 2000. Rennison & Welchans, 2000. Morrison & MacKay, 2000. Rome, 2001. George, 2001. MacPherson 2002.

Most of these studies have looked at male victims of female-on-male abuse and listed similarities in the range of degradation by the female partners of the men including flirting with other men, ridiculing the man’s sexual potency in front of others (including their children), damaging the man’s clothes, consistent threats to attack the man in their sleep, threats to harm children (both born and unborn), telling the police that self-inflicted injuries were caused by the man resulting in the man being wrongfully arrested and the threat of taking their children away from them.


Some of the men were even attacked by other men who had wrongly been informed that the woman involved was the victim.

The scope of physical violence endured by these men ranged from biting, scratching, punching, stabbing, having teeth knocked out, being scalded with boiling water, attacks to the genitalia and being beaten with home appliances and implements. Some of the men are still living with their abusive partners, in the majority of cases to protect their children.

Many of the men reported that their partners had consciously tried to injure them on the face and arms, making their injuries open to public scrutiny and the possibility of public humiliation and embarrassment. And in most of the cases, the abuse also involved sustained verbal, emotional and psychological forms of cruelty and, in common with female victims of domestic violence, many of the male victims stated that this form of emotional abuse together with the fear of violence was actually more devastating than the physical harm done, even on the occasions where this was extensive.

Some of these studies have tried to make sense of the female’s actions citing alcoholism, childbirth, post-natal depression, PMS, eating disorders, retirement and unemployment as factors to blame for instigating the violence however in one study, 40% of the men interviewed described the violence as their partner’s ‘normal behaviour’.

For help, advice or further information regarding Domestic Violence Against Men, contact the Men’s Advice Line or Respect For a self defence course email Security And Safety.

 
 
Domestic Violence Against the Elderly (Elder Abuse)
The extent of abuse suffered by older people in the UK is detailed in a 2007 report released by Comic Relief and the Department of Health titled “The UK Study of Abuse and Neglect”. This report shows that 342,000 older people face abuse in their own homes within the UK with over 100,000 being physically assaulted and over 42,000 suffering sexual abuse.

227,000 people in the UK were neglected or abused by family, close friends and care workers in the last year alone and that the majority of the incidents involved a partner (51%) or another family member (49%).

In many cases elderly people are being left in bed, or unwashed, or left without food or access to the toilet. While two thirds of abusers are family members, nearly one tenth are domiciliary care staff. (20% of theft is by domiciliary care staff.)

Commenting on the report, the Chief Executive of Action on Elder Abuse (AEA) said; “The abuse of older people is a blight on our society and there is a duty on all of us to face up to the challenges posed by this Report.

The four Governments of the UK must now begin to give the same level of priority to the abuse of adults as we see with children. At the end of the day, we hurt just as much at 78 years as we do at 8 years of age.’

Woman’s Aid also produced a report in 2007 titled “Older women and domestic violence”. This report found that it is often assumed that domestic violence is mainly experienced by younger women and confirmed that there is no firm data about the extent of domestic violence against older women.

The report showed that older women experience even more barriers to disclosure than younger women, and may therefore be more reluctant to report violence. There are also additional factors as to why it may be more difficult for an older women to disclose abuse, such as they feel that marriage is for life and they are ashamed, they are frightened that no one (including their adult children) will believe them or that they believe that it is too late at their age for them to seek help as services only exist for younger women. In some instances, the abuse suffered by the elderly was instigated from their own adult children and included psychological and emotional attacks, physical violence and financial abuse e.g. as their pension was kept from them and personal banking accounts withdrawn without their knowledge.

Another hurdle with domestic violence with this age group is the understanding of exactly what is classed as domestic violence / domestic abuse.

Domestic violence was not regarded as a crime when these victims were younger, and neither police action nor protection from the civil courts was readily available.



The Chief Executive of Women’s Aid commented; “Health and social care professionals can impact on this situation by failing to respond to domestic violence experienced by older women or by responding inappropriately.

This can include a failure to recognise either that the abuse is happening or to hold the abuser responsible - particularly if they are elderly or disabled.

Health professionals should also not assume that any allegations of domestic violence by older women must be the result of confusion or dementia.”

For help, advice or further information regarding Domestic Violence Against the Elderly, contact Action on Elder Abuse (AEA), Women’s Aid, Refuge or the Women & Equality Unit

For a self defence course
email Security And Safety.

 
 
Domestic Violence Against Children
In 2006, the United Nations published a case study report on “Violence Against All Children Around the World”. This study built on the UN’s “Impact of Armed Conflict on Children” study of 1996 and was the first global study to engage directly with children.

The report addressed violence against children within different settings including the home and revealed devastating and continued violence against children in all countries of the world.

The report found that between 133-275 million children every year, witness domestic violence with over 50,000 children a year dying as a result of murder and 1-2 million children treated in hospitals for violence-related injuries.

The report goes on to highlight that the majority of all violent acts against children are committed by people who are part of their lives: parents, teachers, friends, employers and caregivers.

In the UK, the NSPCC have estimated that;
Every 100 days, 205,000 children will
witness domestic violence.
Each year, “ChildLine” counsellors will speak to nearly 50,000 children who had been affected by bullying or physical abuse.
1 in 6 children will be sexually abused before their 16th birthday.

 

A 2007 survey carried out by NSPCC revealed that 4 out of every 5 boys aged 11-16 said violence is 'a major problem for young people nowadays', with 2 in 5 seeing it as simply 'part of growing up'. 1 in 3 said they found it difficult to talk to anyone about violence.

The survey also found that 1 in 4 children had witnessed domestic violence between adult family members. Around half of the most recent incidents (47%) involved physical assaults and 13% the use of an object or weapon. One third of young people (32%) believed that those responsible for the abuse last time had been drinking alcohol or taking drugs.

In 1996, over one million UK-based children contacted the NSPCC after it encouraged them to speak out about sexual abuse.

The children’s charity ‘Save the Children’ have also produced some helpful booklets on the subject of domestic violence against children.

“Safe Learning” offers detailed guidance for schools on developing strategies to support vulnerable children by:

Raising awareness and
understanding of domestic
violence amongst teachers
and pupils.
Identifying children and young
people affected by domestic
violence.
Ensuring children’s safety.
Integrating children who arrive at short notice to escape abuse.

The booklet “Children, Domestic Violence in Rural Areas” also addresses two distinct gaps in domestic violence research and service provision:

Services targeted specifically at children and young people.
What is distinctive about services in rural areas for children and young people who experience domestic violence.

For help, advice or further information regarding Domestic Violence Against Children contact Save the Children or the NSPCC or UNICEF.

For a self defence course
email Security And Safety.

 
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