“The guarantee of safety in an abusive relationship can never be based on a promise from the abuser, no matter how sincere,” a quote from Judith Lewis Herman, an American psychologist. and professor. Often, women enter a relationship, or even a marriage, expecting to be protected rather than abused. Needing some sense of safety and security, many experience betrayal from the very men they trust and love, resulting in domestic violence. Women have been oppressed publicly, economically, politically and even emotionally since what may seem like the dawn of time, so being oppressed in the form of abuse, at the hands of a loved one, is like pouring salt on an open bruise. Domestic violence, as we will learn in this essay, is one of the leading oppressors of women, not only in America, but throughout the world. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay One may ask, “What is domestic violence?” According to the Women's Advocates website, domestic violence is described as "a pattern of behavior in any relationship that is used to gain or maintain power and control over an intimate partner." It is abuse that takes many forms, including physical, emotional, psychological and sexual. Such acts of threats or violence are usually inflicted by people whom women trust and love deeply and dearly. This type of abuse aims to “scare, intimidate, terrorize, manipulate, hurt, humiliate, blame, hurt or injure someone.” Its final consequences are usually psychological trauma, physical injuries, or even death. Domestic violence does not discriminate against women. Victims come from any age group, race, ethnicity, economic class, religion, sexual orientation, education level, socioeconomic status, and/or religion. Married couples, domestic partners, single women dating, common-law couples, and cohabiting couples are also at risk of domestic violence. Although severity and frequency vary, one factor that is sure to influence domestic violence is usually related to the innate need of one partner, usually the dominant one, to dominate and control the other. The perpetrator and abuse often leaves the victim feeling weak and lacking in self-confidence. The warning signs of domestic violence usually start small and are usually ignored or downplayed. Some of these behaviors, according to Visio of the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, a website committed to advocating against and raising awareness about domestic violence, are "name-calling, threats, possessiveness or distrust." Abusers may apologize profusely for their actions or try to convince the person they are abusing that they are doing these things out of love or concern. Usually, these small acts of manipulative behavior usually escalate into more violent behavior. Although it does not have a long and documented history, domestic violence is not a new epidemic. “Medscape” states that the history of domestic violence dates back to a time when it was legal for a man to punish his wife. The Common Law of England, dating back to the days of the monarchy in England, stated that a man was permitted to "beat his wife, provided that the diameter of the stick so used is notwider than the diameter of one's thumb, hence the term 'Rule of Thumb'. »In America, domestic violence was a normality and a man beating his wife was generally considered a joke. This was considered a valid reason for husbands to exercise and express authority over their wives. Domestic violence was considered a trivial crime and some psychologists even considered it a way for a man to relieve stress. In 1641, a document was drawn up giving guidelines on the use of force and abuse against women. The document was called the Corps of Liberties of Massachusetts Bay and it stated that a woman should not endure any type of physical infliction or conflict from her husband. A wave of feminist movements, probably the first ever, began in the 19th century, which led to changes in opinion and even legislation on physical violence against women and domestic violence as a whole. The state of Tennessee became the first to pass a law prohibiting wife beating in 1850. Other states quickly followed, and by 1870 most American courts denied husbands the right to physically abuse their wives. In 1920, wife beating, once legal, became illegal in every U.S. state. In 1878, the United Kingdom passed the Matrimonial Act, which allowed women to seek legal separation from their abusive husbands. The adoption of laws allowed police officers to arbitrate in cases of domestic violence. However, men are still not punished for their behavior. It wasn't until the 1990s and beyond that issues of domestic violence began to be taken seriously. In 1993, the United Nations led the way for countries around the world to allow domestic violence to be considered a criminal act with the publication of a manual entitled Strategies for Dealing with Domestic Violence: A Resource Manual. In 1994, the U.S. Congress passed the Violence Against Women Act, which was part of the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994. According to Legal Momentum, VAWA was the first “comprehensive federal legislative package designed to end violence against women.” » The law included prevention and funding strategies for victims of domestic violence, as well as "the federal criminal law against battery and the requirement that every state give full faith and credit to protection orders throughout the United States" . that there is a coalition between domestic violence and it being a “sexual and reproductive health and rights issue in the United States.” An interesting perspective, I thought as I read the article written by Kinsey Hasstedt and Andrea Rowan. Rather than calling this act domestic violence, the couple calls it "intimate partner violence (IPV)" and explains why it is a public health crisis in the United States, while addressing the consequences that appear to be “an essential component of sexual and reproductive violence”. health and rights in this country. “The sexual abuse factor of domestic violence is considered a reproductive controlling factor and unfairly affects women of all ages. Both authors conclude that acts of domestic sexual violence and sexual and reproductive health have intersectionality perspectives that occur at the federal policy level. The couple goes on to state that among the large proportion of women who experience domestic violence in America, "nearly half have experienced psychological assault, approximately one in four have been subjected to severe physical violence, and nearly one in ten have been raped.” .” Among all womenmurdered in America, a third of them are during acts of domestic violence perpetrated by former or current partners. As a result, the act of domestic violence publicly costs the country billions of dollars. They claim that in addition to the sexual and reproductive violence that results from domestic violence, this heinous act has been "linked to negative sexual and reproductive health outcomes." Additionally, it is women of childbearing age – most often those who are young or poor – who are most likely to be victims of domestic violence, including sexual violence and reproductive control. They also report that there are a number of negative health issues related to sexual and reproductive problems that women experience as a result of domestic violence. The physical violence women experience puts them at increased risk of reproductive harm. In addition to the negative sexual and reproductive effects of domestic violence, the law also imposes millions of dollars in annual economic costs. Medscape estimated that as of 2003, annual costs resulting from domestic violence were estimated at $8.3 billion. Of this amount, $6.2 billion was spent on victims of physical assault, $461 million on victims of stalking, $460 million on victims of rape, and $1.2 billion on victims killed following domestic violence. The epidemic of domestic violence presents statistics that are beyond limits. Statistics show that one in four women are victims of domestic violence in one form or another. UN Women, a website dedicated to ending domestic violence against women, states that thirty-five percent of women worldwide have experienced domestic violence, physical or sexual, at the hands of a intimate partner or a non-partner at least once in their life. While seventy percent of these women have experienced violence intimately, children have confessed to witnessing violence at the hands of their fathers or other male figures around the world. It is reported that in 2017, 87,000 women were intentionally killed during an episode of domestic violence, which is a direct result of the daily killing of one hundred and thirty-seven women around the world by a family member or partner. intimate partner. Around thirty thousand women were killed by their former partners. In the United States, the NCADV states that nearly “nearly 20 people per minute are physically assaulted by an intimate partner in the United States. Over one year, this represents more than 10 million women and men. One in four women are victims of serious domestic violence, whether physical, sexual or harassment by their intimate partner. Every day, it has been reported that more than twenty thousand phone calls are made to hotlines for victims of domestic violence across the country. As a result of domestic violence, higher rates of depression and suicide are also reported among victims of domestic violence. It can be concluded that a large percentage of domestic violence is usually committed by intimate partners, husbands and wives. In countries around the world, at least one in three women experience domestic violence at the hands of their husband or intimate partner. In the United States, at least ten million people are victims of domestic violence each year. That's at least twenty people per minute. Although the numbers are not as high as in the United States, domestic violence is still prevalent in other countries. Studies have shown that even women belonging to a different culture that prohibits.