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Violence is becoming more commonplace in today’s culture with many violent videogames, movies and even in the evening news. Domestic violence is one of the most common, and also one of the most ignored forms of violence today. Domestic violence can be described as a pattern of abusive behavior and actions that is used to acquire or maintain control over an intimate partner (US Department of Justice). There are many forms of domestic abuse, and is not just limited to physical abuse. It is any action, or even a threat of action that can influence another person. This includes behaviors that intimidate, manipulate, humiliate, isolate, frighten, terrorize, coerce, blame, hurt, injure or wound (US Department of Justice). Although females are normally the victims of domestic violence, it can happen to anyone of any age, race, or gender. Whether it is an opposite-sex relationship or a same-sex relationship, whether you are married, living together, or dating, you could be a victim. For the purpose of narrowing the topic, and because this type is the most common, this report will concentrate of domestic violence against women. As mentioned above, there are many different types of domestic violence. Physical abuse is probably the most harmful and in serious cases can lead to death. There is also sexual abuse, emotional abuse, economic abuse and psychological abuse. Physical abuse includes hitting, slapping, punching, biting etc. and also includes denying a partner medical care. Physical abuse also comes in the form of forced drug or alcohol use (US Department of Justice). Many people would automatically come to the conclusion that if two people are in a relationship, there is no such thing as sexual abuse. That is completely false. Sexual abuse is coercing, or attempting to coerce any sexual behavior without consent. This includes marital rape, forcing sexual acts after violence has taken place, or treating one in a sexually demeaning manor (US Department of Justice). Emotional abuse is not as obvious as sexual or physical abuse, and cannot be proven with physical evidence, however it still has tremendous effects of the victims. Emotional abuse is damaging ones feelings of self-worth and self-esteem. It can include excessive criticism, name-calling or hurting an individual’s relationship with her children (US Department of Justice). Economic abuse is an area of domestic violence that people do not normally think about it, but could be seriously destructive. Economic abuse can include making, or attempting to make your partner financially dependent by keeping complete control over financial resources. Also forbidding one from attending school or work to earn a living (US Department of Justice). Psychological abuse is similar to emotional abuse in the sense that there is no physical evidence, but is still psychologically harmful. The difference between psychological abuse and emotional abuse is that psychological is more about creating a sense of fear. This fear could come from threatening the partner, the partner’s family or friends, destruction or abuse of one’s pet, or even simply isolating the partner from family or friends (US Department of Justice). These different types of abuse do not start or stop at a specific stage in an individual’s life, then are continuous and different types happen at different stages (UNICEF). These stages start as early as pre-birth and continue all the way to the elderly years of life. At pre-birth there are the obvious effects of battering a women during her pregnancy and the effects of that on the child. There is also choosing a sex-selective abortion which is more common in certain countries then in others (UNICEF). At infancy the effects become more serious as they have permanent physical and psychological effects on the child. There are problems such as infanticide, which is the murder or a child by a parent or loved one (Wikipedia). There is also any kind of physical, sexual or psychological abuse (UNICEF). Again, as these stages progress the abuse becomes more serious and life altering or threatening. During girlhood there are issues such as childhood marriage, female genital mutilation, incest, child prostitution and pornography or any other form of physical, sexual or psychological abuse (UNICEF). During adolescence and into adulthood the types of abuse stay similar. There are issues of date rape, economically coerced sex, incest, sexual abuse in the workplace, rape, sexual harassment, forced prostitution and pornography, trafficking of women, marital rape, partner homicide or any other form of physical, sexual or psychological abuse (UNICEF). As women age the abuse may happen for different reasons. These reasons become more economic and things such as forced suicide or homicide or a widow for financial gain. There is again, always the chance of any type of physical, sexual or psychological abuse. At any age, a woman is a viable victim for domestic violence. Even though domestic violence is never appropriate and should never be excused there are influencing factors. One of the factors that makes domestic violence more common in some countries then others are cultural differences. Some cultures have different definitions of appropriate sex-roles and different expectations of roles within relationships. Some cultures also have a strong belief that males are the dominant gender and there are values that give men proprietary rights over women and girls. Some countries also just accept violence as a means to resolve problems (UNICEF). There are also economically influencing factors. For one, in the past and still today some women tend to be financially dependent on men. Men are also favored in the workplace and given advantages academically. Even with today’s gender equality there are still discriminatory laws regarding inheritance, property rights and rights after a divorce or widowhood (UNICEF). There are also legal influencing factors such as the legal definitions of rape and domestic violence (UNICEF). Politically, women are underrepresented in the media, politics and other positions of power. There is also the issue that domestic violence is ignored and not taken seriously because the argument is that it happens behind the closed doors of the family circle and is beyond the control of the state (UNICEF). Domestic violence is a serious issue and should not be ignored because there are real and serious consequences. The most severe consequences are directly on the women being abused. It mostly affects those women in relationships who are between the ages of 15-24, those who have been in a relationship for less then three years, those who are separated and those women in common-law marriage situations (CBC News). Women are at risk of many health issues from minor bumps and bruises to severe depression and even at risk of death. Some of the non-fatal outcomes include unwanted pregnancy, chronic pelvic pain, headaches, asthma, miscarriage or other physical injury even self-induced harmful practices such as smoking. There are also severe psychological repercussions such as depression, anxiety, low self-esteem, eating disorders, post-traumatic-stress-disorder and many more. Fatalities are the most severe cases of domestic violence but they do occur. There are reports of suicide, homicide, maternal mortality and risk of HIV/AIDS. Children are also stakeholders in the fight against domestic violence. Children who grow up witnessing domestic violence are pre-disposed to numerous social and physical problems. It also teaches them that violence is a normal way of life, and is leading them to be the next generation of victims or abusers (CBC News). The affects may not be as obvious on family members, friends, co-workers and other witnesses but they are still there and the community at large stands to suffer from domestic violence (CBC News). One of the biggest consequences of domestic violence is the ignorance that is placed on the fundamental rights of human beings. There are international laws and treaties that are supposed to protect women and children. These laws state that no matter what culture, all practices that harm women and girls must be eliminated. They also assert that not only must women and children be protected from violence, but also the perpetrators of the violence must be brought to justice (UNICEF). Domestic violence is an underrepresented issue all over the world. In Canada, the rates of domestic violence have not changed in the past years. Since 1999, a steady 7% of women have experienced some sort of domestic abuse from a current or former partner (CBC News). This issue needs to stop being ignored by the public, the law and the victims themselves.

**Works Cited**
 * 1) __Infanticide.__ Wikipedia. Accessed on Feb 1, 2009. 
 * 2) __Domestic Violence Against Women and Girls.__ June 2006. Innocenti Digest, UNICEF. Accessed on Jan 31, 2009. 
 * 3) __Domestic Violence Rate Unchanged, Statistics Canada Finds.__ July 2005. CBC News. Accessed on Feb 1, 2009. 
 * 4) __About Domestic Violence.__ US Department of Justice. Accessed on Jan 29, 2009. 