Effects Of Domestic Violence Against Women Essay

In Trinidad and Tobago the Domestic violence Act chap 45:56 of 1999 defines domestic violence as ‘ physical, sexual, emotional or physiological or financial abuse committed by a person against a spouse, child, any other person who is a member of the household or a dependant.’ This paper will be a review on domestic violence but specifically focusing on domestic violence against women in Trinidad and Tobago, the effects that it has on the victim and family members, the laws pertaining to domestic violence against women and what are some of the avenues and resources that are available to victims. The United Nations defines violence against women as “any act of gender based violence that results in, or is likely to result in physical, sexual or mental harm, or suffering to women, including threats of such acts, coercion or arbitrary deprivation of liberty, whether occurring in public or private life.” According to the Head of the Victim and Witness Support Unit of the Police Service Mrs. Margaret Sampson-Browne stated that between the periods

A publication by the Ministry of the People and Social Development pointed out effects such as victims’ health both mentally and physically, socially and more severely death. This article shows that this victim was abused badly which could possibly result in headaches, body pains and as a result led to serious health issues. Mentally both she and the children can be affected resulting in depression, post traumatic stress disorder, sleeping disorders and emotional distress. Socially, because of this final incident both the victim and the children may experience a sense of isolation or withdrawal from their normal social settings; the children may be reluctant to go to school and the victim in regular activities. Death can be either through homicide or through suicide, however for this article neither of these two has been the