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Essay on Affects of Domestic Violence on Children
Domestic violence is most often presented on the one hand as an epidemic that views men as wild beasts, who are only loosely tethered by the constraints of civilization and who are aggressive, combative demonic primates who enjoy nothing better than battering, beating, and murdering women and children. On the other hand some do not view domestic violence as an issue at all. For them it is nothing more than a specious issue constructed and fabricated in the minds of feminists and is not a problem in America's enlightened modern society. The fact is that domestic violence is not as simple as men beating women. The nexus of the enigma is social, economic, and institutional power regardless of gender. Women have not been proven more moral then men, they simply remain less uncorrupted by institutional control and political power.
Research shows that Domestic violence affects children adversely. Children who have witnessed repeated acts of violence by their father against their mother do not need to participate in a specialized counseling program.Research indicates that in the United States between 3.3 million and 10 million children are exposed to domestic violence annually. Several studies have consistently demonstrated the long-lasting harm to children resulting from exposure to violence between their parents.
These children exhibit a range of adjustment and anxiety disorders, cognitive and emotional impairments, difficulty in school, social deficits, and aggressive and acting-out disorders. Boys who have witnessed their mother being assaulted by a father or stepfather have a greater likelihood of becoming an abuser when they become adults, and girls have a greater likelihood of becoming a victim of domestic violence when they reach adulthood . A report from the American Bar Association (1994) entitled The Impact of Domestic Violence on the Children urges lawyers and judges to more actively protect children from the devastating impact (both physical and psychological) of domestic violence......
