Socioeconomic Factors Influencing Domestic Violence

Many people have heard of domestic violence, but very few understand what it involves. Domestic violence is a form of abuse, based on a local setting, whereby a spouse or a partner considered intimate, or a close person in a family acts violently or with a form of aggression towards the fellow spouse, a former spouse, the children or the elderly in the family (Badland et al., 2015). To most people, it is only considered domestic violence if it involves the physical body. Contrary to expectation, domestic violence includes not just the physical aggression and attacks, but also sexual, emotional and verbal abuse including many other forms of violence (Beyer, Wallis, & Hamberger, 2015). Domestic violence affects the whole world entirely, with other places experiencing more severe cases than others. Whether it affects the men or women, no form of domestic violence is beneficial, as they all impacts negatively not just the wellbeing of a person but also their mental health (Costa et al., 2015). This essay will in its scope examine in details the issue of domestic violence, how the socioeconomic factors, as well as psychological factors, impacts the incidence of domestic violence. Then evaluate the elements based on Perpetrators and victims of Domestic violence, explain the roles of Social Economic Status (SES) in Domestic Violence and finally it will give full caution and action points, to avert such incidences in future as part of the conclusion.

For a very long time, various socioeconomic factors have been leading to domestic violence. Many at times, the group that is widely affected is women and children, who have a relatively weaker physique making them vulnerable compared to the men. One out of three women will experience some form of sexual or even physical abuse in their lifetime according to (Devries et al., 2015). Some of these factors may include;

First, the societal norms and views. Different people view domestic violence differently. In some societies, a woman should be obedient and submissive to the husband, and he has a right to punish her whenever she goes wrong. In other communities, women know their rights, and any form of violence towards them is punishable by the law (El, 2018)

Another socioeconomic factor is religion. The world today has very many faiths with each having a convincing scripture that tends to identify the religion as the best religion in the world. However, some religions have selected readings that tend to support the dominance of some gender. It may lead to domestic violence especially in cases where the dominant gender is disrespected (García-Moreno et al., 2015).

Psychological Factors Influencing Domestic Violence

Traditional practices and culture are yet another factor. Some barbaric cultural laws may lead to forms of domestic violence such as forced marriages, isolation of ladies during the menstruation period and even requirement of virginity for marriage to take place (Johnson, 2016). This customary law may be enforced on the people and thus a substantial contributing factor towards domestic violence.

The education level of a person also influences domestic violence. In countries where the average level of education of citizens is relatively high, citizens tend to know more about their rights and thus can be able to stand up against domestic violence (Lindquist, Noor, Sullivan, & Knight, 2015). Illiterate citizens with no knowledge of their rights continue to suffer helplessly and are likely to be targets of domestic violence.

The age also matters a lot. Most people who are targets of the perpetrators of domestic violence target mostly the very young and very old who are considered to be weak and helpless to defend themselves (Mitchell, 2015). Furthermore, they also target adolescents, especially for domestic sexual violence. Being at a particular age puts you in danger of various kinds of domestic violence.

In as much as no single factor justifies domestic violence, we cannot rule out psychological factors that may predispose people to domestic violence (Nadan, Spilsbury, & Korbin, 2015). Contrary to the socioeconomic factors, psychological factors can be involuntarily performed. Some of the mental causes include;

First, according to behaviorism theory, famously known by having proponents such as John B. Watson and B.F Skinner, behavior can be learned from the environment or can be reflexes toward a particular stimulus (Noble, Paul, Turon, & Oldmeadow, 2015). A child who grew up in a situation where women face domestic violence tends to show violent behavior towards the spouse in future. According to Rueger et al., (2016) children’s cultural influence and history play a significant role in who they become in the future as they grow up.

Psychological development takes place since the start of the child’s life throughout infancy till when a child becomes an adult. According to Sigmund Freud theory of psychoanalysis, when a child skips some critical steps in the development process, the child may be fixated (Swanson, McGinty, Fazel, & Mays, 2015). As a result, the child may experience some aggressive behavior in the future which may lead to domestic violence.

Additionally, psychological illnesses are a significant cause of domestic violence, especially in Australia. A spouse suffering from mental illnesses such as trauma, anxiety and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) may show some form of aggression towards the spouse leading to domestic violence. According to Rueger et al., (2016) many patients suffering from various kinds of related psychological illnesses tend to engage themselves in some form of violence or abuse as a way to deal with unpleasant feelings they have. However, not all people who suffer from similar conditions are engaged in domestic violence.

Perpetrators and Victims of Domestic Violence

Furthermore, drug addiction is a psychological condition that may lead to domestic violence. Various instances of domestic violence have been reported all over the world that point out drugs as the starting point. Some medications such as alcohol may make the user show violence impulse towards the partner hence exposing them to a danger of domestic violence.

Perpetrators are those who inflict domestic violence. Generally, the main idea of educating people about domestic violence is to reduce the generation of more perpetrators (Taft, & Watson, 2017). However, some of the perpetrators have their side of the story they tend to justify with the unlawful acts. For example, in their perspective, a person suffering from mental health issues may not be fit to make a radical decision such as patients with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD). These patients tend to re-experience repetitive thoughts and feelings. If the ideas are disturbing, they make becoming violent especially towards their spouses or family leading to domestic violence. Other forms of mental illness may include trauma, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) among many others.

On the other hand, the victims have their perspective when dealing with domestic violence. They are the recipients of domestic violence and the group which suffers most. When a close person attacks someone, they not only suffer physically from getting hurt on the body but also psychologically (Thao, 2016). They keep seeing their attackers every day, and this is traumatizing. They live in fear that they may be attacked anytime and they may end up living a depressed life. Too much anxiety and stress may lead to severe psychological problems such as Trauma and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).

The Social Economic Status of a person has been attributed to domestic violence either directly or indirectly. By social, economic status, we not only refer to the financial aspect of a person but also the educational level, social class, and even status. All of these aspects play a significant role towards the daily interaction among people in the society (Livingston, 2015). Generally, people who have low scores in these aspects tend to experience a higher prevalence of domestic violence; Low education levels or illiteracy, poor financially, low economic status and low social class among others. With problems come aggression and with aggression comes violence (Snow, & Sanger, 2015)

People with higher scores in social, economic status tend to know their rights and are ardent in fighting for them when they are violated. With high education levels, huge finances and being a top player in the community, one is more likely to be treated with respect. With such a connection, they are likely to avoid domestic violence more often.

Role of Social Economic Status (SES) in Domestic Violence

However, there exists some form of pretense among such high-class people. They tend to avoid public limelight when incidences of domestic violence occur (Cross et al., 2015) Most of these incidences are downplayed by the parties involved, to maintain an excellent reputation in the society.

For us to curb this menace, we need to discourage barbaric male chauvinistic mentality in the society as we encourage fair competition among the sexes. We should socio-educate the organization on what to do when they witness cases of domestic violence. It will make them be public watchdogs to discourage such incidences. Furthermore, societal institutions should encourage a balance in the social status by treating everyone as equals in the provision of services. People with mental health issues should undergo urgent treatment and be given proper care to reduce aggression amongst the group.

Conclusion

It is evident that domestic violence is a global issue affecting various people all over the world. People should not hesitate to report such cases in as much as they may seem like a reasonable thing in the society. Domestic violence negatively impacts mental health and wellbeing of people in the community, and thus all efforts should be made to stop the rampant cases that still are existing in our midst. By examining how socioeconomic and psychological factors influence the incidence of domestic violence, we tend to get more insight on the rot our society will be living in if we allow this menace to continue. We only have one life to live, let us make it exemplary for the future generations.

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