The Cause of Domestic Violence
Domination, a term that invokes fear, is aptly applied to the state of domestic violence in this country. It is the word that reigns supreme in most cases of domestic violence. Domestic violence often occurs as a result of one partner feeling the need to control the other partner in a relationship, whether the abuse is inflicted physically, emotionally, or sexually is not even the issue. Abuse is abuse! Domestic violence most often refers to violence between married or cohabiting couples, although it sometimes refers to violence against other members of a household, such as children or elderly relatives. One in every four women will experience domestic violence in her lifetime. (Tjaden, 8); one of 33 men has experienced an attempted or completed rape (Tjaden 9). These statistics only serve to show that this issue is extremely important. It must be openly discussed and laws, regulations, and the news media must make the graveness of the topic evident for all to see. This silent killer can no longer be whispered about, shunned, or put on the back burner. It must be address now!
Domestic violence is an atrocity. This urge for control may stem from a variety of complex reasons: low self-esteem, being exposed to domestic violence as a child, believing the idea that women are unequal, envy, the inability to manage one’s anger, feeling substandard to the other partner in education and or
finances. This problem is real. Vernet McClary, a South Carolina author, chronicles this subject in her book, What Will it Take for a Woman to Open Her Eyes. She gives first-hand actions of abuse and relates stories from women who were abuse as some point. Additionally, she interviewed these women and got their insight into how the abuse started, why they stayed in the situations, and how they were able to get out. This author speaks candidly and openly about this issue. In her words, “Having local authors on the...