Written by Elif Gulce Batgi
According to epidemiologic studies, violence is a social scourge that increases the likelihood of being exposed to criminal victimization of women by 25% to 40% worldwide (3). It is also one of the most brutal examples of gender inequality because violence is influenced by discrimination (1). This gender-based violence involves sexual, psychological, and physical violence. Furthermore, physical violence includes punches, kicks, attempted strangulation, blows using an object, etc. Sexual violence, on the other hand, is the sexual sphere that is perceived as degrading and unwanted by the victim (1). Last but not least, psychological violence contained within other types of violence is the most common and difficult to detect. However, violence caused by discrimination and gender inequality in families, which usually spreads to children, is not evaluated from a neuropsychology perspective.
(Image Credit: https://www.formazionecontinuaviolenza.it/2023/01/23/sintesi-iis-braschi-quarenghi-di-subiaco-il-rombo-drammatico/.)
According to ABS's (2006) Personal Safety Survey, one in three Australian women have experienced physical violence once in their lives; nearly one in five women have been exposed to sexual or some sort of sexual violence; and one in five women have experienced it through their current or previous partners (2). Findings from the Personal Safety Survey show that men have experienced less sexual and physical violence from their previous or current partners than women have (2). 4.7 percent of females were physically assaulted in the past 12 months, and 31 percent were assaulted by their current or former partner, whereas 10 percent of men were assaulted in the past 12 months, and 4.4 percent of them were by their current or former partner (2). Except for the prevalence of violence, the nature of violence is different between men and women. Men are more likely to be aggressive.It is severe and may result in serious injuries. Motivation when resorting to violence is also different between the genders. Men use verbal abuse and physical violence to assert dominance over and have control over their partners. On the other hand, women who are violent are likely to be driven by frustration and anger rather than an aggression toward a certain object, and the violence may emerge as self-defense or retaliation for provocation.
As a consequence of intimate partner violence, traumatic brain injury can appear in individuals. It usually results from violent blows or jolts to the head or body. A mild traumatic brain injury may affect neurons temporarily, whereas a more serious one may cause bruising, torn tissues, bleeding, and other physical damage to the brain (4). Moreover, they can result in long-term complications and death. Another point is that being exposed to physical violence can increase the damage. Most of the women are avoiding going to the police or reporting their partners because of the risk of being murdered. Repeated trauma can cause brain tissue degeneration, resulting in fatigue, depression, and mood changes; memory loss; confusion; aggression; impaired judgment; and difficulty with everyday tasks; and can lead to dementia and other chronic health conditions (5).
Children are another group of individuals who are affected by domestic violence as much as their parents, and on some occasions even more. It is harder for them to understand the situation and recover from damage that affects not only their mental health but also other aspects too. Studies have shown that school-age children exhibit problematic behaviors including depression, anxiety, and violence toward peers (6). Being unable to understand the situation may result in using drugs and alcohol, engaging in unsafe sexual activity, and hurting themselves by cutting. As a long-term effect, the children who are struggling with violence in their home are more likely to be victims or abusers in their future lives (6).
Even though a number of experiments and revolutionary ideas came up in the last decade, domestic violence is still one of the most brutal problems in society, mostly in underdeveloped countries. Every individual who is exposed to violence, either directly or through being in a situation, is damaged in their current life and future, both physically and psychologically. The only way to reduce the number of violent houses is to give victims the opportunity to tell their own stories and listen to them in order to eventually help them.Victims should be treated physically first, and then psychologic damage can be recovered with the help of a psychiatrist.
References:
Mental health in women victims of gender violence: Descriptive and multivariate analysis of Neuropsychological functions and depressive symptomatology. (2021, December 29). MDPI. https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/1/346.
Morgan A & Chadwick H 2009. Key issues in domestic violence. Research in practice no. 7. Canberra: Australian Institute of Criminology. https://www.aic.gov.au/publications/rip/rip7.
Just a moment... (n.d.). Just a moment...https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0006322302014142.
Traumatic brain injury - Symptoms and causes. (2021, February 4). Mayo Clinic. https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/traumatic-brain-injury/symptoms-causes/syc-20378557.
Halina (Lin) Haag, Dayna Jones, Angela Colantonio,& Tracey Joseph. Battered and Brain Injured: Traumatic Brain Injury Among Women Survivors of Intimate Partner Violence-A Scoping Review. (2019, June). SAGE Journals. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/1524838019850623.
Vargas, L. Cataldo, J., & Dickson, S. (2005). Domestic violence and children. In G. R. Walz & R. K. Yep (Eds.), VISTAS: Compelling perspectives on counseling, 2005 (pp.67- 69). Alexandria, VA: American Counseling Association.
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