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Our Patron, Helen Clark |
Domestic Violence Intervention Services
What is Domestic Violence?
Domestic Violence, also called "intimate partner abuse", "battering", or "wife-beating", refers to physical, sexual, psychological, and economic abuse that place in the context of an intimate relationship, including marriage. For migrants, immigration visa sponsorship is another tool for abuse. Domestic violence is one of the most common forms of gender-based violence and is often characteristics by long-term patterns of abusive behaviour and control.
Marital rape is also a form of abuse where one individual forces another to perform a sexual act against that person's will. Most experts believe the primary cause of rape is an aggressive desire to dominate the victim rather than an attempt to achieve sexual fulfilment.
In an abusive domestic relationship one has the power over another. One or more individuals are in fear and not able to safely express or negotiate power. This means being totally fearful, put down, threatened, disrespected, feeling hopeless, etc.
Effects of Domestic Violence
Self
- Constant fear of the abuser and helplessness
- Depression and isolation
- Fear of pressure from friends, relative, as well as cultural pressure
- Low self-esteem and poor self-confidence
- Self-blame and disempowerment
- Fear of poverty and homelessness
- Anxiety due to financial and emotional dependence
- Difficulty in acceptance of the reality - she still loves him
- Frustration stemming out of desire to receive love and attention
- Guilt stemming from the belief in the "two-parent" ideal
Children
- Demonstrate excessive fears, nightmares, signs of extreme nervousness, shyness
- Show disruptive behaviour; be cruel to animals and other people.
- Be unable to concentrate or engage appropriately in learning or play activities
- Become withdrawn, uncommunicative, isolated; suppress feelings.
- Find it difficult to form attachments and maintain good relationships with others
- Fail to thrive or reach satisfactory development milestones; be frequently sick and lack appetite
- Be uncooperative, unruly, unhappy, worried, and anxious; lacks enjoyment
- Demand excessive amounts of attention; be unable to confide or trust parents or other adults