Lack of Domestic violence services for men in this State
Running Head: DOMESTIC VIOLENCE 1
Domestic Violence Advocacy
Name
Professor
Course title
Date
Domestic violence advocacy
Background
In the modern-day society, domestic violence has been experienced in many forms. The cases of willful intimidation, where partners have been harassed both physically, emotionally and mentally have been on the increase and as a result, they lower the general performance of the individual in the work place and in the long run affect the economy of the country as a whole. Most jurisdictions in the USA have defined the behavior of wife abuse or intimate abuse as domestic violence.
Even though there exist a governmental agency and policy makers, things continue to worsen, in an attempt to make things better, this research is aimed at providing the commonly ignored cases of domestic violence and then bring up proposals with conclusions which will be necessary to change the policies so as to incorporate the assaults which were not originally accounted for in the present policies.
The research was conducted in some target homes where violence was highly experienced, conflicting families and workplace ethical staff with help from the policy maker’s advice and wisdom from philosophies so far learnt in class. This was aimed to get the most stressed workers so that to interview them to know whether the ill feelings originated from the work place or domestic violence was the cause. A special interest was given to the families of immigrants in the United States of America.
As Open Government License says domestic violence are incidents or patterns of threatening behavior, coercion, violence, abuse and controlling of those aged above 16 years of age who have been involved in intimacy with partners or their family members. This is regardless of gender, sexuality, wealth, race and geography. The abuse may entail physicality, psychological, sexual, emotional or financial effects. Domestic violence includes issues of black and minority ethnic communities, female genital mutilation and forced marriages. The violence is hardly a one-off instance and should be seen as patterns of the said abuse and controlling behavior whereby the abusers seek some sort of power over their victims (Goodman, Banyard, Woulfe, Ash, & Mattern, 2016).
Immigration Policy
The current administration has implemented harsh immigration policy that has worsened the fears of domestic violence victims. Immigrants are particularly vulnerable to domestic violence for possible reasons such as not being able to speak English, separation from their families and lack of adequate understanding of the laws of United States. This leaves them afraid of reporting acts of domestic violence to the police or seeking of other means of getting assistance due to the potential deportation. It is this fear that results in many immigrants remaining in abusive relationships.
What can be observed here is that ruthless individuals are able to harness the fears of their victims to gain power and control which prevents the possibility of the partners leaving the relationship. These domestic abusers use the immigration status to trap undocumented partners in those relationships that are abusive. Situations of women with children show enhanced vulnerability due to the repercussions of separation from families in case the immigrants come out. The administration has displayed no problem with breaking families apart as seen in cases of immigrants being deported and leaving behind American born children.
The executive orders on immigration have essentially removed protection for immigrants who are victims of crimes like domestic abuse. There has been a shift in enforcement priority which now does not consider the survivors of domestic violence. The Violence against Women Act enables victims of domestic violence to qualify for special protection. There are visas that help the victims live independent of abusers through provision of temporary status of legality and work authorization as long they help with the relevant investigation. The act additionally prohibits the utilization of the information from the abusers of undocumented immigrants to arrest and deport the victims. The exception in such situations is if the victims have been involved in committing serious crimes themselves.
The officers of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) should consider individuals who are the victims or witnesses to serious crimes such as domestic violence in determination of whether or not to take enforcement action. However, the stance of ICE in recent times hasn’t exactly portrayed the protection of victims. As a matter of fact, the organization has put more focus on plans of ramping up deportations (Pain, 2014).
The implementation of changes as stated by Homeland Security Secretary showed that the exempting of classes or categories of immigrants from potential enforcement is now not the case anymore. The new executive orders have instilled fear in persons such that they feel they can’t access help. This has strengthened those that may exploit situations of vulnerability.
A member of Tahirih Justice Center said that a climate of fear has engulfed persons across the country in addition to their clientele. The situation has made them afraid to even engage in their daily activities as they could be arrested and deported. This is despite their efforts in working with their attorneys to bring about regulation of their status. After the president set the policy changes in motion, undocumented domestic violence victims have taken a step back from their cases so as not to draw the attention of immigration enforcement officers to themselves. Few cases of domestic violence have been dropped recently after victims refused to cooperate with law enforcement. Other victims have hesitated to progress with their cases due to the same concerns.
There are reports of some instances of domestic violence victims being detained and deported outside courthouses. This has made immigrants to turn away from the courthouses to avoid the repercussions they could possibly face. The outcome from the cases of not reporting of cases may lead to more strained relationships between immigrant communities and law enforcement as aggression on immigration actions continues. The safety of the public is undermined with creation of an environment that victims cannot feel safe to reach out for help.
The situation requires strong response from the administration in dealing with the implemented policy on executive order which clearly fails to protect immigrant victims of domestic violence. The administration should see that there is reduced likelihood of reporting of crimes by immigrant victims and the abusers are greatly empowered. The prohibition of existing laws and creation of fear in immigrant families and communities should be averted. In addition, the relevant agencies should be very clear on the protections that are available to immigrant victims of domestic violence.
In another move by the president, an office has been established to aid victims of crimes that are committed by immigrants. Immigrants however commit crimes at a lower rate than natives. More efforts should be made to make victims of crimes to have no fear of looking for justice in our court systems (Pais, 2016).
Calls
In an attempt to collect the best data for analysis and evaluation, the National Coalition against Domestic Violence (NCADV) was called. They were very accessible and they readily offered to host the group holding the research in the organization. The phone script was as follows. “Hello, we are a group of students and are conducting a research on domestic violence, the aim of the research being re-evaluating the policies regarding domestic violence. Kindly call us back.”
This organization was chosen because it deals with domestic violence, by this virtue, it handles all cases of domestic violence even those that are not in the policies. The acceptance by the organization to host the group of students for study was a source of joy for most students. “Hello, it’s NCADV you requested to visit on data collection regarding domestic violence, aim pleased to inform you that you have been granted access, feel most welcome”
A lot was learnt from the visit, the comment we were welcomed with was “gone are the days when men’s mistreatment to their wives was considered normal”. The number of cases being handled in the court of law was not only small but also very inefficient and slow, this has made justice to the victims having been delayed and the perpetrators go on with their lives as normal.
Most cases which happen in homes especially the rural homesteads are not reported. The delayed justice and socio-cultural factors have caused this to happen. The women are assaulted and there is no avenue to report the incidence, and even if it is there the procedure to handle the cases is so slow and corrupted. As a conclusion to this, the policy makers are requested to change the laws to ensure that enough civic education is made possible to reach many people especially those who are vulnerable.
The federal state should be tasked with responsibility to ensure that all Americans are educated especially on their rights regarding domestic violence. This will see to it that people don’t suffer silently. Another thing recommended to the policy makers is to ensure that tribunals are set, made effective and fast, as a result, corrective measures will be performed and the affected victims will be able to be taken care of.
Having received information about policies that need to be changed, it was of great importance to also call individuals who have been heavily affected by these violence’s. A recent case where a woman’s hands were chopped off by the husband because of inability to conceive forced the group to also call her to get what she had been going through in her marriage.
“Hello madam, we are a group of students and are conducting a research on domestic violence, to recommend changes in the policies governing the handling of domestic violence, kindly confirm to us if we can interview you” it was not very easy to talk to this particular lady since all she had gone through had made her naturally bitter, it took a lot of time to convince her.
Talking to her provided more vital information which proves that a lot has to be changed in the way the government handles domestic violence cases. Most women are being assaulted daily and men are also suffering in the hands of their rowdy spouses. The feeling that one partner is more powerful that the other has simply made so many people no misunderstand the marriage dynamics hence exposing others to suffer.
Call to policy makers
An attempt to reach the policy makers was successful. The phone script is here attached. “Good evening, we are a group of students conducting a research on domestic violence and we would wish to visit and give our recommendations, we will really appreciate if you call us back on.” The response was very positive and an access was granted and as a result, the police makers were visited.
Conclusion and recommendations
Having assessed all the cases and how they have affected citizens, the following changes are recommended:
All domestic violence cases to be handled within 2 weeks, this would ensure that the victims get justice in the fastest way possible.
All perpetrators to be prosecuted regardless of the positions they hold in the society.
Civic education be made possible to all citizens and reporting stations be placed in every location to ensure that all the domestic violence is reported and handled in time.
References
Goodman, L. A., Banyard, V., Woulfe, J., Ash, S., & Mattern, G. (2016). Bringing a network-
oriented approach to domestic violence services: A focus group exploration of promising practices. Violence against women, 22(1), 64-89.
Pain, R. (2014). Everyday terrorism: Connecting domestic violence and global terrorism.
Progress in Human Geography, 38(4), 531-550.
Pais, P. (2016). Challenging the efficacy of no-drop prosecution policies in domestic violence
cases: a comparative legal analysis.