Domestic Violence: Why Do you Think Domestic Violence Exists Nowadays? Who Suffers the Most?
Domestic violence is a complex worldwide phenomenon that has plagued societies for centuries, and it is still a highly alarming issue in most parts of the world. However, until recently the topic was largely excluded from public scrutiny since it was considered a highly private and individual matter that should be kept “inside the house” . Only during the last 30 years scientists, researchers, communities and activists have opened a public dialogue on this issue, with the former offering a plethora of research and interesting analyses on the matter .
The most widespread form of domestic violence in contemporary society is the so called Intimate Partner
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It is interesting to note that 40% of victims of child abuse report violence in home (Unicef, 2009). The socially/legally reserved right of children to live in a safe and quiescent home environment is unfortunately not self-evident for a large number of children in modern world. An important element in analyzing the characteristics of domestic violence among children, is that besides physical punishment there are other cruel and equally damaging non-physical forms of violence which children suffer within the family environment. The most characteristic are: enduring persistent threats, insults, verbal abuse, belittling, isolation and rejection (Pinheiro, P., 2006). In addition, a substantial form of domestic abuse of children is sexual violation, either in the form of sexual harassment by their parents or relatives or in the form of forced sex within forced and early marriage, which is still a “traditional costume” in some places. Respectively, female genital mutilation remains a widespread practice, mainly in North and Eastern Africa, where over 90% of girls are forced by their parents to undergo this operation (Pinheiro, P., 2006). It is interesting to note that several studies in the field have shown the connection of intimate partner violence and child abuse; approximately half of the batterers who repeatedly exert violence to their wives also abuse their children in home, in a rate of 700% that of the non-battering men (Bancroft, 2002)