Domestic Violence

The term "domestic violence" refers to any violence by one partner over the other in family relationship. The objective of domestic violence is to exercise control over the other partner and create an undue pressure over the partner.

In general terms, domestic violence refers to violence among spouses or partner. There are also instances in parent-child, sibling and in-law relationships as well.

Domestic violence has the characteristics of emotional, psychological and financial abuse. Domestic violence is criminal and is considered against the law. An act can be classified as criminal when a partner resorts to any form of physical violence such as slapping or hitting, sexual abuse, and stalking.

There are various theories to explain domestic violence. Most people use domestic violence and abuse as a tool to get what they want, whenever they want. It's all about control.

Many abusers are also often have drug and alcohol abuse problems. If you or someone you know is abusing drugs, a drug rehabilitation program is essential for there recovery.

It is necessary to understand the terms "victim" and "abuser" in the context of domestic violence.

Victims
Victims of domestic violence can be of any age, sex, race, culture, religion, education, employment or marital status. Anyone can be a victim of domestic violence. The person who is on the receiving end of violence or ill treatment is a victim of domestic violence.

Abusers
Abusers, as the name suggests, are persons who are perpetrators of domestic violence. Even though abuser can be of any sex, mostly it is men who are the abusers, and women the victims. However, there are women abusers, and men are their victims.

Abusers have a few specific traits, such as:

• They are persons of low self-esteem.
• They do not "own" the responsibility for their actions.
• They generally blame the victim as the root cause of the violence.

If you are a victim of domestic violence and abuse, remember you should not blame yourself, feel isolated or suffer in silence. Help is available for you. All you have to do is reach out for it. Some resources available to you are:

• Volunteer Organizations
• Police
• Legal
• Medical

When you are trapped in a domestic abuse situation, you should remember that the most important items on your agenda should be your life and safety, and the safety of your children.