DEFINITION OF TERMS
Domestic violence: is simply violence in the home. It can be defined as violence against another in an intimate relationship such as dating and marriage.
Human Rights: This is the basic rights and freedom that all humans should be guaranteed, such as the right to life and liberty, freedom of thought and expression, and equality before the law.
Abuse: This is improper treatment or usage; application to a wrong or bad purpose; an unjust, corrupt or wrongful practice or custom.
Domestic violence is truly an abuse of human rights. It can also be seen as a pattern of behaviour which involves violence or other abuse by one person against another at home or in a domestic setting, such as in marriage or cohabitation. Domestic
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This is because in most of these countries the relationship between the husband and wife is not considered one of the equals, but instead one in which the wife must submit herself to the husband. According to Violence against Women in Families and Relationships, "Globally, wife-beating is seen as justified in some circumstances by a majority of the population in various countries, most commonly in situations of actual or suspected infidelity by wives or their "disobedience" toward a husband or …show more content…
Other factors include substance abuse, unemployment, mental health problems, lack of coping skills, isolation, and excessive dependence on the abuser.
Cycles of violence
Cycle of abuse
Lenore E. Walker presented the model of a cycle of abuse which consists of four phases. First, there is a buildup to abuse when tension rises until a domestic violence incident ensues. During the reconciliation stage, the abuser may be kind and loving and then there is a period of calm. When the situation is calm, the abused person may be hopeful that the situation will change. Then, tensions begin to build, and the cycle starts again.
Intergenerational violence
A common aspect among abusers is that they witnessed abuse in their childhood, in other words, they were participants in a chain of violence. It is observed that abusers had witnessed one form of abuse or the other at different times. Intergenerational cycles of domestic violence range from the abused children who later became parents and behave as such to their children, to the abused newly married wife who was abused by her mother-in-law and she, in turn, abuses her son's wife in later