Description

There are many forms of family violence and it happens all around us. You may have experienced family violence or know someone who has. Based on what you’ve learned, what do you think causes family violence and how do we stop it?

What resources are available in your area for victims of family violence? Please do a search online for at least 1 resource for each of the following: domestic violence, child abuse, and elder abuse. Be sure to provide the name of the agency, a brief summary of the services they provide, and contact information.

Minimum 250 words

Classmate #1:

Hello Everyone,

This week we are looking at the many forms of family violence. I have experienced some forms of family violence though do not feel comfortable getting into the particulars of it. Based on what I have learned from personal experience, I would say that many forms of family violence are brought on by stress. I can say that from personal experience, it was from financial stress and obligations to huge responsibilities that brought stress that was felt there were no other ways to cope and so there were moments of instability and lashing out. It is as if the stress was all-consuming and they felt there were no other ways to cope but to burst with anger and frustration. The resources available to families in my area are plentiful. There are state wide resources, county as well as smaller resources through programs or even the news. We have www.fvps.org which is a national domestic violence service. They help with prevention of family violence as well as domestic violence. The county, Bexar (pronounced “Bear”) county, has their own domestic and family violence website and phone number that can be located at www.bexar.org under the domestic violence tab. There is a link on the page to the Bexar country family justice center that has a way to connect with the agency. The city of San Antonio has its own website with domestic and family violence at www.sanantonio.gov under the filing charges and prosecution page. Most of the resources within the government at the county and city level are there for families that are in the process of filing charges or families that feel they may be able to take that step. There are few resources for families to see the start of violence with the home or what signs to look for. There are other resources outside of the government, the local news channel has done a wide reporting on the topic that has resources even for IRS help with tax options for those that are survivors of domestic violence. They have stories that families with violence or domestic abuse survivors may be able to relate to. They have real stories of people who have been convicted and stories of survival. Victims may feel that it is a more safe place to relate to and feel comfortable seeing how they may be able to get help. These resources can be found at www.ksat.com/topic/domestic_violence/ . The site even has help to those that are wanting to file paperwork for protective orders and those that are looking for ways to get out of there situation and where to go. Visitors of the site can also submit questions to the station to get the answers anonymously. All of these resources can help with domestic and family violence. As for elder abuse, the county has their own page for that under the elder fraud tab and a phone number (18002525400) to call as a hotline for abuse. The same number can be used as domestic or child abuse. The city of San Antonio has senior services and resources at www.seniorstresourceguide.com. This website has links to many different areas of help including national sources such as the National Center on Elder Abuse (NCEA). For specific information on child abuse within the city, they have their own website www.childsafe-sa.org which gives many resources to families in all stages of child abuse or family violence.

Classmate #2:

While family violence is extremely common within our current society, the history of family violence goes far beyond what many of us could ever imagine. I believe that family violence stems from a variety of things including job related stress, mental health issues, alcohol and substance abuse, marital stress, and poverty. With regards to poverty, when a person has little to no control over their economic circumstances such as job security, the cost of living, the areas in which they can afford to live, or the schools that they go to, this has the capacity to present a tremendous amount of stress, further inducing anger and possibly rage and subsequently using it as a means of maintaining control through family violence. Additionally, as we read within this week’s reading, family violence is not only about hitting, but also occurs when an individual tries to control, scare, hurt, or bully others with the family, and can be rendered through physical, emotional, verbal, sexual, social, technological, or financial control (Healey, 2014). In order to stop family violence, it is extremely important that when you see something, you also say something. There are times when people witness family violence and domestic violence and they choose not to get involved. When people turn a blind eye and pretend that they do not see what is happening, they may not realize that they could have been the one person to help stop this violence in a variety of ways. There are many resources available for those who are victims of family abuse. Here in North Caroline, SAFE of Harnett County, a private non-profit organization, provides safety and advocacy for victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, elder abuse, human trafficking, child abuse, dating violence, and unhealthy relationships (SAFE, 2015). Among the many services that they provide are a safe 24-hour confidential crisis line, emergency shelter, court advocacy programs, community education, and professional training programs. Their services are all provided free of charge and are also fully confidential. To contact SAFE, the organization can be reached through their crisis line at (910) 893-7233 or at their office located at 1210 South Main Street, Lillington, NC 27546.

References:

Healey, J. (2014). Domestic and family violence. Retrieved from https://ebookcentral.proquest.com

SAFE. (2015). Welcome to SAFE of Harnett County. Retrieved from http://safeofhc.org/

Minimum 150 words answer