Women and Health.

1) I chose domestic violence because I was really pleasantly surprised with our textbook's choice to include a reading which emphasizes the overlap between a healthy physical body and eradicating gender violence.  The following data is all collected from a fact sheet published by the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence: One in every four women will experience domestic violence in her lifetime. Less than one-fifth of victims reporting an injury from intimate partner violence sought medical treatment following the injury. 16,200 homicides occur annually, due to intimate partner violence. Additionally, Delaware, Montana, and South Carolina specifically exclude same-sex relationships in their domestic violence laws (National Coalition Against Domestic Violence). Additionally, 84% of spouse abuse victims were females, and 86% of victims of dating partner abuse were female (American Bar Association). Combining all of this troubling information creates a climate of awareness wherein we realize that something must be done on a macro level to change the way we confront these issues.

2) Unhealthy conditioning of constructed masculinities is arguably the greatest single factor in this epidemic. If masculinity is conditioned to be aggressive, violent, and insatiable, it will be learned and reiterated as such. Boys who witness domestic violence are twice as likely to abuse their own partners and children when they become adults (National Coalition Against Domestic Violence). This is very troubling, but it also puts the burden of responsibility on the entire society to discourage these behaviors when children are young, so they can understand that controlling and physically abusing intimate partners is in no way healthy or functional.

3) As far as the healthcare is concerned, women should not be denied access to domestic violence shelters on the basis of sexual orientation. No domestic violence services should incorporate any level of discrimination, as it only encourages women to return to their abusers in their desperation. There should be nothing discouraging women from seeking the help they need, least of all financial shortcomings. All police officers should avoid blaming the women for their passive role in the cycle of violence, even if returning to an abusive relationship seems irrational when viewed from the outside.

4) If children witness reported domestic violence, beyond just therapy (mental health treatment) and care of any bodily injuries (physical health treatment), there should be a mandatory class on healthy expressions of anger, conditioning them that what they have witnessed is not functional on either end, though women caught in the cycle of abuse are in no way to blame for their fear to break free. However, it is possible to treat the problem preventatively and greatly reduce the frequency of this problem's occurrence. This would be a much more effective strategy than waiting until the cycle continues and giving it an anger management band-aid for what is already a deeply engrained and manifesting behavior.

Works Cited

"Survey of Recent Statistics ." American Bar Association. American Bar Assocation. Web. 14 Oct. 2010. <http://new.abanet.org/domesticviolence/Pages/Statistics.aspx#same-sex>.

"Domestic Violence Facts." National Coalition Against Domestic Violence. National Coalition Against Domestic Violence. Web. 14 Oct. 2010. <www.ncadv.org/files/DomesticViolenceFactSheet(National).pdf>.