Evaluating Human Services

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Abstract

A support group refers to an organization dedicated to help people deal with a particular problem or problems. Support groups help people deal with illness, job loss, and addiction. They provide information, comfort, teach coping skills, help reduce anxiety, and provide a place for people to share common concerns and emotional support with others.

Support groups may include education, behavioural training, and group interaction. Behavioural training could involve muscle relaxation or meditation to reduce stress or effects of chemotherapy or radiation therapy.

Family violence is defined as the infliction of physical injury by one family or household member on another. It is also a repeated / habitual pattern of such behaviour (Merriam-Webster dictionary).

Family violence also termed as domestic violence is a pattern of abusive behaviours by one partner towards the other in an intimate relationship such like marriage, dating, cohabitation or family. It could be in many forms, physical assault or other forms like sexual abuse, emotional abuse, stalking.

Most domestic violence victims need temporary and permanent safe housing, financial assistance, medical reimbursement,  HYPERLINK “http://www.examiner.com/x-17770-Sacramento-Abusive-Relationships-Examiner~y2009m7d30-Privacy-101-Top-5-privacy-protection-tips-for-domestic-violence-and-stalking-victims” privacy protection and counseling.  They too need access to social service support and advocacy, legal representation, vocational training and childcare. However, the needs of these victims do not stop there. Domestic violence victims’ who seek aid from government agencies and the courts end up creating technological trails of their private lives in government records and on-line databases thereby allowing for domestic abusers to become cyberstalkers with ease. Phone records, social security numbers, previous and current employment information, property records, credit information, medical records and more is available on-line today making a victims’ path to freedom more difficult than ever before. Therefore, there’s great need for privacy protection for most family violence victims in order for them to live comfortably in the society.

Family violence victims normally get traumatised for whatever form of violence they are exposed to. This leads them to live with fear. They therefore require either some temporary or permanent housing facility but which will put them away from their perpetrators. Trust especially in cases where the individuals involved are couples may have quickly faded. Coupled with fear, most victims will not agree to stay next to their perpetrators.

Many victims are at times left in a bad state. Violence associated with assault or sexual abuse results in horrible injuries. In turn, the victim may require financial assistance that will aid in settling medical bills, travel expenses to a safer region. This need is normally great especially for victims who do not or are not in a working condition to provide for themselves thereby requiring well wishers to help out.

Counselling is the other great need most victims require. They truly need to be taken through a counselling session to help revert the psychological conditions and trauma affected by the violence. In most instances, counselling does help but only when the victims decide to speak out what they went through. They are taken through a healing process that at the end of the day helps them live a normal life once again.

Domestic violence in this instance sexual abuse may start up when one partner feels that there is need to control and dominate the other. Abusers may get this need to control their partners as a result of low self-esteem, extreme jealousy, difficulties in regulating anger and other strong emotions, or when they feel inferior to the other partner in terms of education and socioeconomic backgrounds. Some men with very traditional beliefs may think they have the right to control  HYPERLINK “http://psychcentral.com/news/2008/05/12/stress-triggers-depression-in-women-alcohol-craving-in-men/2266.html” o “women” women, and that women aren’t equal to men in society.

Sexual abuse may lead one being infected with diseases including HIV and AIDS. Out of all these, the trauma accompanied by the act is heavy to bear for most victims and may lead to suicidal cases. People feel they are not worthy living anymore after what they have been taken through. They may view life as a painful pill to swallow.

This domination then takes the form of emotional, physical or sexual abuse. Studies suggest violent behavior often mostly caused by an interaction of situational and individual factors. That means that abusers learn violent behavior from their family, people in their community and other cultural influences as they grow up. They may have seen violence often or may have been victims themselves.

Children who witness or are the victims of violence may learn to believe that violence is a reasonable way to resolve conflict between people. Boys who learn that women are not to be valued or respected and who see violence directed against women are more likely to abuse women when they grow up. Girls who witness domestic violence in their families of origin are more likely to be victimized by their own husbands.

Alcohol and other chemical substances or drug abuse contribute to violent behavior. A drunk or high person will be less likely to control his or her violent impulses. However, counseling for perpetrators too could be deployed and help change such individual behavior.

REFERENCES

http://www.examiner.com/article/domestic-violence-victims-needs-the-21st-century