The University of the West Indies Cave Hill Campus Introduction to Professional Writing FOUN1008 Student Name
The University of the West Indies
Cave Hill Campus
Introduction to Professional Writing
FOUN1008
Student Name: Kathy-Ann Padmore
ID#410001411
Group ID#19541070
Tutor: Ms Chloe Walker
Due Date: 2018-11-05
The various types of safety breaches in the community
Domestic Violence – children and adolescents
Literature Review
Domestic Violence is not physical violence alone. Domestic Violence is any behaviour the purpose of which is to gain power and control over a spouse, partner, girl/boyfriend or intimate family member. There are several categories of abusive behaviour, each of which has its own devastating consequences CITATION Min l 1033 (Affairs). According to Holt, Buckley and Whelan children and young people may be significantly affected by living with domestic violence. Also, that exposure may have a differential yet potentially deleterious impact for children and young people. While Machado explained how the causes and consequences can affect children physical and or psychological and can trigger lifelong problems. However, Bancroft suggests that if children see or hear the mistreatment how it affects them, and the federal constitutions outlines the rights of children and adolescents.
The Ministry of Gender Affairs also stated that aside from the instances in which a child may fall victim to some of the physical abuse suffered by a parent, violence perpetrated between adults in a household has been known to have indirect effects on the child living there. The atmosphere of violence may develop a level of fear in a child, which in turn may engender behavioural problems at school and affect the nature of the child’s academic performance and relationship with other students. However such children may become socially withdrawn, or grow to be ultraviolent in their behaviour towards other students, and the violence in the household may also affect how the child goes on to relate to males or females in their adult life.
CITATION Ste08 l 1033 (Holt) states that children and adolescents living with domestic violence are at increased risk of experiencing emotional, physical and sexual abuse, of developing emotional and behavioural problems and of increased exposure to the presence of other adversities in their lives. It also highlights a range of protective factors that can mitigate against this impact, in particular a strong relationship with and attachment to a caring adult, usually the mother.
CITATION Jul18 l 1033 (Machado) explained that violence against children is deeply rooted in cultural, economic and social practices in a historical way. It is a public health problem that requires a better understanding of its occurrence in the various scenarios, as well as of its causes and consequences, either they are physical, emotional and social. Although violence may occur in any age group, children are at greater risk for their development, since it is a phase of absorption of values, formation of ethical concepts and structure of the personality, and the damages of violence, either they are physical and or psychological, can trigger lifelong problems.
The federal constitution of 1988, Article 227, outlines the fundamental; rights of children and adolescent, created by law no. 8069/1990, addresses all aspects that guarantee the right to life and to the health of children and adolescents, highlighting that no child could be subjected to any form of neglect, violence and cruelty.
Lundy Bancroft suggests that if children do not see or hear the abusive man’s mistreatment of their mother, they feel the aftershocks. They see her pain, they feel her withdrawal, they hear whispering among their older siblings about what happened. The critical question therefore is not whether they know you are being mistreated, they do, but how they are affected by what they know.
According to Science Direct, children and young people may be significantly affected by living with domestic violence, and impact can endure even after measures have been taken to secure their safety. It also concludes that there is rarely a direct causal pathway leading to a particular outcome and that children are active in constructing their own social world. Implications for interventions suggest that timely, appropriate and individually tailored responses need to build on the resilient blocks in the child’s life.
As reported in the daily nation newspaper dated May 12th 2018 it was stated by former Minister of Energy Ms. Liz Thompson at a spot meeting “Domestic violence has reached epidemic propotions in Barbados, and the BLP is taking a zero-tolerance approach for domestic abuse toward women, children and men”. Additionally, Ms. Thompson further stated that the party intended to hold abusers accountable, and intended to put a number of actions in place to help combat these issues. Some of the proposed solutions include anger management and conflict resolution classes, community-based counselling, safe houses for those abused with an equal space for men and restitution and compensation for abuse victims. Similarly, the acting Director of the Bureau of Gender Affairs, Nalita Gajadhar said ” it was important that the congregations take a stand and say domestic violence must end and we know that there are brothers who sit with us and lead us in prayer and in worship….that we know that some of them are also abusing their partners”
Domestic violence (Protection Order) Act 1992 was reviewed and subsequently amended in 2016 and as a result the act should protect persons from being abused.
In conclusion Domestic Violence is very humiliating and affects children and adolescents. This can impact on their future and it places them at harm if they are not given the specific counselling or support according to their respective needs. There are many support groups in place that provide services for those affected for example the Save Foundation. The impact on children and young people varies and other related adversities. Such exposure may have a differential yet potentially deleterious impact from a resilient perspective and a range of protective factors that influence the extent of the impact and subsequent outcomes for the child. Thus advocacy for a holistic and child-centered approach to service delivery, derived from an informed assessment designed to capture child’s experience may be responsive to their individual needs. The former Minister of Energy stated” We are prepared to give men counselling and put them in programmes to make them feel better about themselves”. This initiative should hopefully have a positive impact on the men who in most cases are the abusers in the relationship, hence, allowing them to build a progressive personality with their partner and as a result will reduce the level of abuse whether verbally or physically.
Bibliography
BIBLIOGRAPHY Nation News 12 may 2018: 1.
Affairs, Ministry of Gender. n.d.
Bancroft, Lundy. When Dad Hurts Mom. n.d.
Holt, Stephanie, Buckley Helen, Whelan Sadhbh. “The impact of exposure to domestic violence on children and young people.” ScieceDirect (2008): 1-3.
Machado, Juliana Costa. “knowledge of nursing students on the identification of children undergoing domestic violence.” Journal of Nursing (2018): 83-84.
