Research Paper on Should 'Mental Harassment' in a Conjugal Relationship Be a Criminal Offense?

Introduction

Harassment is an abuse which is offensive in nature. It depicts a trait that humiliates or embarrasses another person and is demeaning to them. In a legal sense, harassment is the behavior that tends to be threatening or disturbing another person's peace. According to our subject topic, mental harassment is basically emotional abuse. Mental harassment is any act that causes pain, agony, and fear. The emotional abuse demeans, subjugates, controls punishes and intimidates someone. A conjugal relationship is a physical, sexual relationship between married couples. The common law accepts conjugal relationships between spouses thus ordaining special weddings such as civil weddings. A conjugal relation leads to partners leaving together, and one might be prone to mental harassment from the other spouse. This harassment can be deliberate insults. Insults by one's partner may lead the abused to be tormented mentally and lowering his or her self-esteem. Cheating by the other partner may lead one to suffer from stress which results in a depression in the long run.

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Other abusers tend to cause fear in the other partner where the spouse is reasonably afraid that he or she is about to get hurt. Other forms of mental harassment are stalking and disturbing one's peace caused by the partner if in a conjugal relationship. Complete abstinence from sexual intercourse despite demand from the other spouse is a form of mental harassment since the partner will be in a state of denial emotionally. In a relationship, when abuse begins to be it verbal or physical, it does not get better after time; it only gets worse. According to research, figures show that woman are most abused in toxic conjugal relationships. Statistics show that in 5 college women one has been verbally abused by a partner. The harassment scales up from a woman being verbally abused to domestic violence all courtesy of their partners. Verbal abuse is much more destructive than you think, do not overlook.

The first verbal attack will seem not offensive and take you off guard. Women are subjected to many forms of verbal abuse. One of the most common abuses women face are insults from their partners. Some of the insulting statements women face are: "You are eating like a pig"; "You look like shit." These insults by partners cause depression to most women. Criticizing is another verbal abuse women face from their partners (Sheehy 1999). This is where the partner judges the other and invokes negative evaluation of the partner. These statements are critical, judgmental and abusive such as: "You never get satisfied"; "You are dressed like an old woman." Such intimidating statements are some of which women undergo through solely caused by their partners.

Threats are also common verbal abuse. Some women face threats from their partners. The risks cause fear and stress to these women. Threats can be explicit such as "If you do not cook a tasty meal, I will leave you." Threats are implicitly hurtful to women, and they cannot share their interests because they are not in control. When threats are evident also ordering is an obvious verbal abuse faced by women.

Name calling can be subtle. Women face disgraceful name calling from their partners such as "bitch." Name calling leads about yelling and undermining which cause women to feel put down. This also shows a sign of hostility by the partner which is inhumane. Verbal abuse causes mental and physical effects on its victims. Mental harassment affects women hazardously in the long run. One, it cracks and lowers one's self-esteem. Criticisms and judging implicitly to women by their partners leads them to feel unwanted and useless. This harassment causes women to feel not in control of any judgment in their life. Blaming and also cursing low women's self-esteem.

Depression is a long run effect of mental harassment faced by women. Women become depressed due to lots of stress in their relationship. Undermining is one of abuse that women face that cause depression since they always in fear of either a divorce or being left by their partners. Threats and insults also trigger depression since one cannot get peace of mind. Mental harassment leads to Post Traumatic Stress where women fall most victims due to the abuse they undergo from their partners. Blaming may cause one to lose self-value and suffer from stress. Name calling can be explicit making a woman to be traumatized due to the hurtful words. Women undergoing mental harassment not only suffer mentally but also physically. Mental abuse causes migraines, headaches, chronic pain, and indigestion. Constant stress leads to a state of depression where one develops eating disorders and gastric issues. These forms of harassments to women subjected by their partners are inhuman due to its effects.

Conclusion

In conclusion, a criminal offense is an unlawful act. From the legal sense, harassment is an injustice subjected to someone by another. Mental harassment in a conjugal relationship should not be a criminal offense though it's inhumane how partners treat their women, we cannot refer to it as an injustice.

References

Sheehy, E. A. (1999). Legal responses to violence against women in Canada.