Domestic Violence Speech

Domestic Violence Against Women Introduction On May 2, 1982, Michael Connell visited his estranged wife Karen and their son Ward. Karen and Michael had been separated for more than a year but were seeing each other. A friend of Ward’s also visiting and the four of them were going on a picnic. They never made it. At around noon, Karen staggered from the house, bleeding profusely from the neck. She collapsed into a neighbor’s arms, gasping that her husband had stabbed her and was still in the house with their 5 year-old son and his friend. The South Pasadena Police arrived on the scene to investigate. After several attempts to make contact with Michael or the children failed, they contacted the L. A. Sherriff’s SWAT team. The SWAT team, using a bullhorn, requested anyone inside the house come out. Two boys walked out of the house with their hands up, pleading, â€Å"Don’t shoot; we’re the good guys. † The SWAT team forced entry into the house at about 3:00. They found a man lying on the bathroom floor. He had massive slash wounds to his neck area and a stab wound to his chest. The wounds were self-inflicted. Michael Ward Connell was dead. At the same time, Karen was undergoing an operation at Huntington Memorial Hospital. She had lost seven pints of blood, and her vocal cords had been severed. Her young son Ward had saved her life by jumping on his father’s back and hitting them, screaming, â€Å"Don’t hurt my Mom! † The coroner’s report stated, â€Å"Decedent apparently had marital problems with his wife for quite some time. † Karen and Ward had been residents of Haven House, a refuge for battered women and their children. The Story that Shocked the Country At 12:05 a. m. n June 13, 1994, Nicole Brown and Ronald Goldman were found with their throats slit and heads partially decapitated outside Brown's Bundy Drive condominium in the Brentwood area of Los Angeles, California. Her two children, Sydney (age 8) and Justin (age 5), were asleep inside in an upstairs bedroom. O. J. Simpson and Nicole Brown Simpson had divorced two years earlier. Evidence found and collected at the scene led police to suspect that O. J. Simpson was the murderer. Nicole had been stabbed multiple times through the throat to the point of near decapitation; her vertebrae were almost severed. Simpson was arrested and charged with the double murders. Three days later Simpson was arraigned and pleaded not guilty to both murders. During the trial prosecutors argued that Simpson killed his ex-wife in a jealous rage. The prosecutors opened it case by playing a 9-1-1 tape of Nicole Brown Simpson expressing fear that Simpson would physically harm her. The prosecuting spent the opening weeks of trial presenting evidence that Simpson had a history of physically abusing Nicole. However, after nine months of lengthy testifying and cross examinations O. J. Simpson was acquitted. The drama and tragedy of woman abuse will touch most of us, at some time in our lives, in a very personal way. This could happen directly as a result of our own intimate relationships with lovers or through the experience of some family members and or friends. Whether or not we have been raised in an abusive family environment, we are almost certainly going to have close contact with, and be affected by, someone who has. Domestic violence is on the rise in most countries around the world. Domestic violence is perpetrated against women in most cases. Every 15 seconds a woman is battered. Two to four million are abused each year and 4,000 of them die. Every 45 seconds someone in the United States is sexually assaulted. Domestic violence can be easily distinguished as being a disease which spreads rapidly and occurs in all religious groups, all races, relationships and to people of all ages. The roots to domestic violence lie in the soil of the patriarchal family. The belief that wives are the possessions of a male â€Å"head of household† who should control the behavior of all other family members is deeply embedded in social traditions. You may say to yourself this type of crime could never happen to me. To help determine if you have been a victim unaware let’s define domestic violence or sometimes called intimate partner violence (IPV) to determine if you or someone you know or love has ever been a victim of domestic violence. Domestic violence as defined by The U. S. Office on Violence Against Women (OVW) is a â€Å"pattern of abusive behavior in any relationship that is used by one partner to gain or maintain power and control over another intimate partner. The definition adds that domestic violence â€Å"can happen to anyone regardless of race, age, sexual orientation, religion, or gender†, and that it takes many forms, including physical abuse, sexual abuse, emotional or psychological abuse, and verbal abuse. Type of abuse To gain a better understanding of these different types of forms that abuse may have let’s characterize the most common ones in detail: Physical abuse is abuse involving contact intended to cause feelings of intimidation, pain, injury or other physical suffering or bodily harm. It often includes hitting, kicking, biting, shoving, restraining, slapping, punching, choking, and other types of contact that will result in physical injury to the victim. Physical abuse can also include behaviors such as denying the victim of medical care when needed, depriving the victim of sleep or other functions necessary to live, or forcing the victim to engage in drug/alcohol against her will. Sexual abuse is any situation in which force is used to obtain participation in unwanted, unsafe, or degrading sexual activity constitutes sexual abuse. Forced sex, even by a spouse or intimate partner with whom consensual sex has occurred, is an act of aggression and violence. The National Coalition Against Domestic Violence reports that between one-third and one-half of all battered women are raped by their partners at least once during the relationship. Furthermore, women whose partners abuse them physically and sexually are at a higher risk of being seriously injured or killed. Emotional abuse is defined as any behavior that threatens, intimidates, undermines the victim’s self-worth or self-esteem, or controls the victim’s freedom. This can include threatening the victim with injury or harm, telling the victim that they will be killed if they ever leave the relationship, and public humiliation. Constant criticism, name-calling, and making statements that damage the victim’s self-esteem are also common forms of emotional abuse. Often perpetrators will use children to engage in emotional abuse by teaching them to harshly criticize the victim as well. Emotional abuse includes conflicting actions or statements which are designed to confuse and create insecurity in the victim. These behaviors also lead the victim to questions themselves, causing them to believe that they are making up the abuse or that the abuse is their fault. Emotional abuse can include humiliating the victim privately or publicly, controlling what the victim can and cannot do, withholding information from the victim, deliberately doing something to make the victim feel diminished or embarrassed, isolating the victim from friends and family, implicitly blackmailing the victim by harming others when the victim expresses independence or happiness, or denying the victim access to money or other basic resources and necessities. Verbal abuse is a form of abusive behavior involving the use of language; it is a form of profanity that can occur with or without the use of expletives. Abuses can ignore, ridicule, disrespect, and criticize others consistently, manipulate words, falsely accuse, make others feel unwanted and unloved, threaten economically, isolate victims from support systems, demonstrate Jekyll and Hyde behaviors, either in terms of sudden rages or behavioral changes, or where there is a very different â€Å"face† shown to the outside world verses with victim. Why does she stay? People who have never been in an abusive relationship may wonder,† Why doesn’t she just leave? † There are many reasons why a woman may not leave an abusive relationship. She may have little or no money and have way to support herself or her children. She may reach out for help and find that all the local domestic violence shelters are full. She may not be able to contact friends and family who could help her. Or she may worry about the safety of herself and her children if she leaves. But if she does leave, victims often lack specialized skills, education, and training that are necessary to find gainful employment. In 2003, thirty-six US cities cited domestic violence as one of the primary causes of homelessness in their areas. It is also reported the one out of every three homeless women are homeless due to having a domestic violence relationship. Laws and Regulations Education concerning domestic violence has come a long way, but it still has a ways to go. The response to domestic violence is typically a combined effort between law enforcement, social services, and health care. The role of each has evolved as domestic violence has been brought more into public view. Domestic violence historically has been viewed as a private family matter that need not involve the government or criminal justice. First passed in 1994, the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) made domestic violence and sexual assault crimes. The VAWA created new punishments for these crimes and gave agencies helping victims more funding to improve their services. In 2000, the VAWA was re-authorized, meaning that Congress and the president agreed to renew the law. In addition to re-authorizing the law, stalking and dating violence were added to the list of crimes covered by the law. Also, more funding was added for legal aid programs for victims. If you’re a victim of abuse or violence at the hands of someone you know or love. Get immediate help and support. The National Domestic Violence Hotline can be reached 24 hours a day, 7 days a week at 800-799-SAFE. Conclusion everyday world could it be you, your roommate, your best friend or neighbor. if you’re a victim of abuse of violence at the hands of someone you know or love get immediate help and support. You’re not alone. The National Domestic Violence Hotline can be reached 24 hours a day, 7 days a week at 800-799-SAFE. Sometimes its hard and confusing to admit that you are in an abusive relationship or to find a way out. There are clear signs to help you know if you are being abused. If you person you love or live with does any of these things, it’s time to get help: * Monitors what you’re doing all the time * Criticizes you for little things * Constantly accuses you of being unfaithful Prevents or discourages you from seeing friends or family, or going to work or school * Gets angry when drinking alchol or uses drugs * Controls how you spend your money * Controls your use of needed medicines * Humiliates you in front of others * Destroys your property or things you care about * Threathens to hurt you, the children, or pets, or does hurt you (by hitting, beating, pushing , shoving, punching, slapping, kicking or biting) * Uses or threatens to use a weapon again st you * Forces you to have sex against your will * Blames you for his violent outbursts