The home should be a place where the family numbers feel warm and safe, but the current international research indicates that family violence is increasing and becoming a global problem. In order to avoid the family violence, let’s find out what the family violence is, how many types there are, and why it continues.

First, family violence is the attack that happens when one or more people are against others within a family. This can happen whether they are married, related, living together, apart, or divorced. It occurs between individuals of all ages and nationalities, at all social levels, and in families of all religious and non-religious backgrounds. The rate of family violence in the cities, suburbia, or rural communities is similar. The victims, the abusers and the society will be effected. These are shown in the following table:

Second, family violence includes physical abuse involving slapping, hitting, burning. The abusers do hurt the victims’ bodies directly. Family violence also appears on the emotional abuse such as the threat of violence through the use of frightening speech, episodes of rage, depreciation of character, and unrealistic demands for perfection. Moreover, the sexual abuse which covers rape and incest is contained under the family violence. For example, some underage children are forced to have sexual relationships with their family numbers, and these things can also happen between couples. The last type that comes into the family violence is neglect. This means poor physical or emotional care. It includes behavior such as the mistreatment or neglect of underage children, the elderly or other family numbers.

Finally, both the victims and the abusers feel powerless to change the situation because of a lack of alternatives. The victims may depend on the abusers; and especially the children or the elderly may feel powerless to escape. Some victims often feel ashamed about their troubled relationships and may not trust those who can help them. Some victims also may be scared of punishment or losing their families if they seek the help. Languages or culture barriers may isolate the victims from those who can help them. Some victims do not know who and where they can get help. On the other hand, the abusers may not realize that they can learn to express their feelings in positive ways. Because many people in violent homes love each other and may enjoy some good times together, victims may feel that it is better to suffer than to be separated.

Most people think the victims of the family violence are wives and children, but some reports show that many husbands are also victims.

So we have discussed about the types of the family violence and the reasons of the family violence. I hope those information can help decreasing the family violence.

August 2003