People from all around the country fall victim to domestic violence every day. There is a deep problem rooted in the mind of the perpetrator and this violent trait they carry cannot vanish so quickly and easily. It has been seen over time that the perpetrator will spend a short couple of days locked up in a jail cell after their crime to reflect on the wrongdoing of their behavior, but this sentencing time and way of law is completely useless. That sort of anger a person carries within them doesn’t just disappear within a span of a couple of days. It is necessary that they face stricter sentencing laws and charges. State governments are not doing enough to penalize perpetrators in the face of domestic violence. If these statewide laws don’t change soon, victims everywhere will have to fear for their safety every day and feel as if the pain they experienced was neglected by their own government. It has been a common topic among advocates for domestic violence victims that we need change. Domestic violence has this country hurting in death, mental and physical health issues, billions of dollars being spent, and children being taught that this type of behavior is acceptable. There must be national changes in the law of domestic violence rather than small changes within county jurisdictions in order to live in a country that makes it clear we do not stand for domestic abuse.

The statistics of domestic abuse have actually been seen to decrease over the past decade. In an article that specifies domestic violence in South Carolina, the author points out that, “nearly one-third of American women report being physically or sexually abused by a husband or boyfriend at some point in their lives,” (South Carolina Legal Services #2). Dating back to 2005, 1,858 women were murdered by men and more than half of those murders were committed by former boyfriends or spouses. South Carolina ranks to be the 7th highest state for domestic violence rates and averages 45,000-55,000 reports of domestic abuse per year. 45,000 is already such a high number, it is hard to imagine all the domestic violence that goes unreported. “Domestic violence is a pattern of behavior of someone in a relationship used to establish control and power over the other partner,” (South Carolina Legal Services #6). The statistics of domestic violence in our nation shows the shocking numbers of people who have reported being victims of domestic violence. There is a shocking statistic for just about every aspect of domestic abuse. 18,000 women have been killed by men in domestic disputes in the last 14 years. 1 in 4 women will face domestic abuse from their partner in their lifetime. 4,774,000 women face domestic violence by an intimate partner every year. Every minute, 20 people become victims of intimate partner domestic violence. The list goes on and on to hospital visits, how many days of work victims have had to miss to do physical injuries, and how many therapy visits are taken by victims of domestic violence.

There are many different aspects in which domestic violence hurts our nation as a whole. Economically, America spends far too much money on domestic abuse issues each year. The cost of intimate partner violence exceeds $5.8 billion each year, $4.1 billion of which is for direct medical and mental health services. Intimate partners include current or former spouses, boyfriends or girlfriends, dating partners, or sexual partners. (“Centers for Disease Control,” 2017).

When medical care is needed following an assault, the average number of healthcare visits by type of service, if the service is required as a result of the assault, is 21.1 physical therapy visits, 5.7 nights in a hospital, 4.4 dental visits, 3.2 physician visits, 3.1 outpatient visits, 1.9 emergency room visits and 1.1 paramedic visits. Victims of intimate partner violence lost almost 8 million days of paid work because of the violence perpetrated against them. This loss is the equivalent of more than 32,000 full-time jobs and almost 5.6 million days of household productivity as a result of violence. (“When medical care,”2000). 

All in all, domestic violence is costing this country billions every year. With stricter laws regarding domestic violence, it would allow the nation to keep perpetrators locked up for a longer period of time, which would result in less two and third time offenses on their victims. The less offenses that occur, the less money that has to be spent on medical bills for suffering victims and the less days of work those victims have to miss due to their injuries.

In a mental health aspect, America is home to too many victims of domestic abuse who will forever endure the emotional pain of their abuse. In a study done at the University of Montreal, researchers found that women who were victims to domestic violence were two times more likely to face depression in their lifetime and also 3 times more likely than the average woman to develop schizophrenic-like psychotic symptoms, (Fisher 1). Women who are victims of abuse have been seen to also develop PTSD and severe anxiety disorders. Because they aren’t sure how else to cope, many of these women turn to drugs and alcohol. It as if they feel worthless, like their dignity has been taken from them and they will never be able to feel themselves again.

There is also the mental health aspect of the abuser that intertwines with domestic violence. A perpetrator of abuse usually shows signs of possessiveness and obsessiveness towards their victim. In some cases, abusers cope with massive self-shame by severely abusing or killing their partners. Nerina Garcia-Arcement, a licensed clinical psychologist, describes how women become susceptible to this intimate partner violence. Garcia-Arcement says that women come into a relationship with men like this who seem to pay a great deal of attention to them and soon become possessive and controlling. The abuser then uses degrading and condescending words and phrases to lower the victim’s self-esteem and cause them to become fragile. 

“This is why women don't just leave,” she added. “By the time they are being hit, they are socially isolated, feel stupid and undesirable, doubt their self-worth and fear the consequences of leaving. If they are not staying out of fear, they are staying because they have come to believe they deserve this treatment, that they are at fault for being hit, for ‘being stupid/saying the wrong thing,’ etc.,” (Garcia-Arcement 1). 

The abuser’s behavior is ultimately due to their own insecurities they feel about themselves, and they feel that they have to bring their partner down to their level by degrading and physically harming them.

And lastly, America has set a bad example of itself to all other people in our country because our laws on domestic violence and our social views on domestic violence are much too lenient. For example, there are many famous athletes who set a bad example for children when they take part in abusing someone. Children idolize these famous athletes, so it can be dangerous for a child to look up to someone who has hurt one of their loved ones because it shows children that this behavior is okay when it is absolutely not. 

A case of domestic abuse involving an NFL player, Terrell Suggs, is a prime example of how domestic abuse can have little to no repercussions. In 2009, Suggs allegedly knocked his now ex-wife, Candace Williams, to the ground, choked her while yelling obscenities at her, and then held bleach over her head threatening to drown her. Williams tried to keep the cap on the bleach but Suggs ended up spilling it on not only her, but also their 1-year old child. Suggs received defensive player of the year while Williams received abuse. Williams finally ended up filing for divorce and took to exposing Suggs on the internet, but Suggs and his teammates made her into a,” scorned ex,” to excuse his behavior. He still to this day plays for the Baltimore Ravens and has received no suspension time, no fines, or even any negative attention. (Dozier 2016).   

This also takes place in the home, when a child sees their mother getting abused by their father. Children tend to do what they see their parents do, which can be very dangerous in this situation. Children are prone to doing what they know and this behavior their parent had can be seen to reflect on their behavior once they are an adult. Children need to grow up with the knowledge that laying a hand on someone is absolutely never acceptable. Perpetrators of domestic violence belong in jail and deserve to serve hard time, especially when they have exposed this sort of unstable behavior to a child. It is crucial that a child be shielded from having to live in a home where domestic violence is a commonplace act so they do not become what they see in adulthood.

Although the nation as a whole has not fully progressed in creating stricter laws on domestic violence cases, there has been a progression in the cities and counties across the nation to create harsher laws on perpetrators of domestic abuse. For example, there was a case in Tennessee where the county-jurisdiction police and judge finally grasped how serious of a problem the abuser has, and that a couple of days or hours in a jail cell isn’t enough to keep someone from abusing again. This specific case caused a judge to adopt tougher bail rules in order for it to be more complicated for a perpetrator of abuse to be set free in such little time. The case that set off this motion involved a man who had abused his girlfriend and was then set free twelve hours after, only to repeat his actions on the woman when let out of jail. This new adopted rule of Nashville County law is a step in the right direction of creating harsher penalties on all perpetrators of abuse all around the world. (Ghianni, Tim).

Domestic abuse laws in some other areas are also becoming stricter as of December 29, 2015. A woman tells her story and a friend’s story to shed some light on how abusive boyfriends and husbands seem to sway the likings of the courtroom their way by being oh-so charming. This new law pertaining to the time sentencing of the perpetrator is called the coercive control offense and the perpetrator can face up to five years in prison as well as having to pay a fine and is also a nationwide law. This law is invoked if a victim suffers serious distress that affects their day-to-day activities, or if they fear violence will be used on more than one occasion. This law was created after the fact that the domestic abuse rate had increased over 18 months by an entire 31.8%. This law has been created in response to victim’s feeling threatened and living in day to day fear and distress of their perpetrators, (Bailey).

 “It is when the law applies to real people that it comes alive, (Myers, preface ix).” This quote describes in simplistic terms that we don’t know how to apply the law until given a real-life situation. John Myers, the author of Legal Issues in Clinical Practice with Victims of Violence, explains how it’s crucial during a trial that the victim has the help of the police, the prosecutors, and advocates of people who deal with abuse. The trial relies mostly on the victim’s compliance. Myer’s explains their key role in trial, “Proof of domestic violence depends on the ability and willingness of victims, (p.249). This also includes photo evidence that can be necessary during trial and sustains proof along with hospital visits that are recorded of these injuries. In another chapter, the hearsay rule is explained. This rule is crucial in interpersonal violence cases. This rule allows the declarant of the statement to bring a person they confided in up to the stand to testify that they knew the information that the victim is claiming they told that said person. Myer’s explains the importance of the hearsay rule by saying, “It is no exaggeration to say that the ability to keep victim’s safe often turns on the ability to use hearsay in court, (p.68). When the victims have not confided or confessed to anyone about what has happened to them, it is harder for them to be seen as being reliable in their accusation of being abused. The victim’s willingness to attempt a case against their perpetrator can be affected by their fear of being made to feel as if they are in the wrong in court just as their perpetrator made them feel as if they were in the wrong when they were abusing them.

Once our nation views as many cases as it has about domestic abuse, it should be keenly obvious that there is a problem with many different solutions, yet we choose to utilize little to none of them. It is more so that we need nationwide jurisdiction over domestic violence laws rather than having harsh laws in some states and very lenient ones in others. It shouldn’t have to fall heavier on the victim about the ruling of their perpetrator due to their location in our country.

This research paper is seen to have specifically focused on violence against women, but many same-sex relationships and woman on man domestic violence relationships are also just as relevant. It has been found in many studies that domestic violence in same-sex relationships is actually the most prevalent of all domestic violence relationships. It is said that,” there are external stressors, like discrimination and violence against gays, and there are internal stressors, such as internalized negative attitudes about homosexuality,” (Jolly, Joanna). It has been seen by some psychologists that same-sex partner violence is more prevalent because of the way society has made them feel about themselves, where the abuser is seen to take out their feeling of discrimination on their partner and the partner takes it because they feel it is only another part of having to deal with being discriminated against.

    Woman on man domestic violence is the least common of the three-different relationship violence, but that does not mean it isn’t just as much of a problem as the other two. The Partner Abuse State of Knowledge project, known as PASK, has conducted research over the past three years on woman on man domestic abuse. This group of researches consists of a broad spectrum of 42 researchers from 20 different universities. These researchers have found that, “men are not only disproportionately arrested in domestic violence cases, but sometimes arrested for arbitrary reasons, citing, for example, that police often arrest the bigger and stronger party in cases where the perpetrator is unclear. “Such policies are not only ineffective but violate people’s civil rights,” Hamel concludes. “People in the domestic violence field say that ‘it’s all about the victims.’ Well, the victim is not always the one hit, but sometimes the one arrested, (“the partner abuse state”, 2013). This disillusionment that only men can be the perpetrators of violence makes it much harder for men to feel they can speak out about their experience. Not only does there need to be a focus taken on law legitimacy of domestic violence, but there also needs to be a focus on men who have been subject to guilt due to the more common statistic of man on woman violence.

It is crucial that this entire nation takes a stand against domestic violence and sees why it is so dire for our country to require change in the field of law all over the U.S. For there to be any change in the way domestic violence is handled, it is necessary that that stricter laws on perpetrators of domestic abuse be taken as a widespread law instead of bits and pieces of the country being more or less aware than other areas. This entire country needs to stand with victims of domestic abuse and let the entire country, and on a broader spectrum; the world, know that we will no longer wait for women and men to parish as victims of domestic abuse until something is done. This country needs to take a stand now, and make domestic violence a U.S. government law rather than a state law. This will eliminate discrimination of the victim’s rights, as their location on the country shouldn’t dictate how long their perpetrator stays in jail. There should be no more 24-hour nights in jail for the people who leave bruises and broken bones on their victims. All domestic violence cases should include longer sentencing periods to more so ensure the validity, dignity, and safety of the victim.
