Domestic Violence: A Leading Health Problem in the U.S. - Essay Sample

Introduction

Domestic violence, which is also known as Intimate Partner Violence (IPV), is a form of a physical, sexual, and psychological strategy used by adults or adolescents to control their intimate partners. Presently, most states in the U.S, including Texas, Dallas acknowledge the vice as a leading health problem oppressing women, children, people of color, the disabled, the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) as well as immigrants. While the prevailing view of domestic violence associated the prevalence on the poor and uneducated, it has emerged that it cuts through all levels of society. These include ethnic, racial, socioeconomic, age, and educational sets. Rising concerns on curbing intimate partner violence have attracted different groups, and such this paper focuses on exploring advocacy measures dealing with domestic violence in Dallas, Texas.

Is your time best spent reading someone else’s essay? Get a 100% original essay FROM A CERTIFIED WRITER!

Save 25%

Current Advocacies in Dallas, Texas

Federal and legislative policies on domestic violence take the lead in America. Since the 1980s, the American federal government has instituted policies and funded projects aimed at addressing domestic violence. The enactment of violence against women act (VAWA), for instance, in 1994, and further reauthorization in 2000, 2005, and 2011 improved measures by the state to stop domestic violence on women (Campos, 2019). There is also the gun control act of 1996 that legalized possession of guns on situations involving domestic violence. Among the predominant roles instituted by VAWA were criminalizing of domestic offenders, provision of funding and shelters to victims as well as educating other states, state officials, and governments on these laws. Various social service organizations, advocacy groups, and social justice systems have since put effort into providing safety, counseling, and justice for victims of domestic violence.

There are several programs and interventions in Dallas, Texas. First is an intense probation, counseling, substance abuse treatment program for high-risk domestic violence offenders. The program, under The Dallas County Felony Domestic Violence Court Program (FDVC), explores risk assessment methods of identifying offenders with a high risk of killing or causing severe harm to their partners. FDVC closely works with the Firearm surrender program to reinforce compliance with existing firearm prohibition laws for domestic violence offenders (Boot et al., 2018). These models are useful in providing coordinated response and communication of domestic violence. It is also beneficial for behavioral change regarding aggression and hyperactivity of offenders. The second response is through public awareness campaigns. The Dallas men against abuse (DMAA) work in promoting a culture of speaking out against domestic violence. The program uses various channels for campaigns and sensitization against domestic violence. Since 2013, offenders were held accountable while the scheme roots support from other stakeholders to support domestic violence initiates. Through this program, thousands have taken the campaign pledge to stop domestic violence, while victims have to get the necessary support to report incidences of abuse.

Another crucial initiative by the Dallas social justice system is the identification of at-risk victims and the provision of shelter and counseling services. The primary aim is to prevent future incidences of domestic violence or injuries. This coordination is widely done together with the Dallas police department. The program is efficient as the identification process is through screening and helps in monitoring silent victims who fear to report domestic violence.

Response to Current Experiences

The efforts directed by various social and legislative groups in Dallas are highly effective. In my view, propositions to expand current incentives, as well as the incorporation of alternative programs, would bear fruit. The extent of injury or damage on victims of domestic violence may be challenging to determine on a first account with the victim; thus, it is imperative first to determine the health and psychological status of a victim. Oehme et al. (2016) posit the need to have a victim's welfare in the front line as crucial for treatment and establishment of a correct state of mind. Additionally, as Boot et al. (2018) observed, there is laxity in the legal framework for verifying compliance with laws on firearms as well as domestic violence. In this regard, each jurisdiction charged with determination and handling of domestic violence issues should adopt mandatory changes that ensure the protection of victims, prosecutions as well as successful law enforcement (Furman, 2016). My proposal would be constructing a sustained, broad-based domestic violence campaign. It will involve collaboration with key stakeholders, including the police, judges, counselors, and leaders in the domestic violence community in understanding their roles, needs of victims, and follow up on the progress of victims of domestic violence.

Advocacy Tactics Adopted

The realization of the efficacy of advocacy measures geared at ending domestic violence will depend on the advocacy tactics adopted. In this view choosing political pressure and persuasion would assure a more considerable way of stemming the social vice. The best approach in this framework would be the legislative approach. Since legislative measures are taken more seriously, my approach would be the adoption of restorative justice and restorative processes instead of the universal community based and legal enforcement systems in dealing with domestic violence. According to Britto (2019), therapeutic procedures offer solutions to handling problems as well as advocating for healing and restoration. Considerably this approach would help in identifying causes of domestic violence and ways of addressing them, subsequently reducing their occurrence.

While restorative justice approaches offer practical methods for solving recurrent issues to domestic violence, they are considerable gaps such as limited funding that leads to the limited access of resource of victims in Dallas. Other pieces of evidence reveal segregation practices based on socio-demographic settings play an integral role in dealing with such vulnerable groups. There should be an all-inclusive and affordable element in the traditions of resource provision and allocation. In supporting Oehme's (2016) proposition, the problem of weak and insufficient interventions of domestic violence victims can be solved by the identification of problem-specific solutions to victims.

Overall, while these interventions dwell on the legislative approach, the input of grassroots and research-based methods would also offer meaningful solutions to advocacy in this context. Thus, they can be combined for better solutions.

References

Boots, D. P., Gulledge, L. M., Bray, T., & Wareham, J.. (2018). Coordinated community response: Toward a more systematic response to domestic violence in an urban setting. Homicide and Violent Crime, 23(1), 25-42. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1108/S1521-613620180000023003

Britto Ruiz, D. (2019, 15 March). Restorative justice and restorative processes: Community makes a difference. Minuto de Dios University Corporation. Retrieved from https://hdl.handle.net/10656/9227

Campos, C., & Campbell, L. (2019). The Violence Against Women Act (1994) and the Incarceration of Survivors. Northridge: Southern California Conference for Undergraduate Research. Retrieved from https://www.sccur.org/sccur/fall_2019_conference/poster_session_3/3/

Furman, E. (2016). Addressing Evidentiary Problems in Prosecuting Domestic Violence Cases Post-Crawford. Emp. Pol. & Civ. Rts. L. Rev, 25(1), 143.

Oehme, K., Stern, N., Donnelly, E., & Melvin, R. (2016). Improving the emergency medical services system's response to domestic violence. Health Matrix, 26(1), 173.