Child Exposure to Domestic Violence Essay

Child exposure to domestic violence has become the modern trend, which is happening way too often in many homes throughout the world today. Child exposure to domestic violence makes the exposed child to physiological indent to violence. Domestic violence is treated with consequences for violating the law. The crime can be considered a personal crime with traumatic psychological anxiety for the viewers of the crime. The content of the video capitalized on the effect of children who are exposed to domestic violence. The children are very much aware of the events that are happening within their home, some children view domestic violence as a normal everyday living so the percentage of the juvenile displaying violent tendencies are very high. Everyday some parents will disregard what a child may feel in order to satisfy his or her own desires. The identifiable casual factor addressed in the video is: when a judge places a restraining order on an individual and the order is violated the offender will be arrested. For example, the video displayed the police reacting to a 911 call for a domestic violence dispute; the ex-boyfriend was trying to break into his ex – girlfriend’s house by climbing through the window. The male suspect has a child with the female victim. While the officers waited for the background check on the individuals involved, dispatch informed the officer’s the male subject had a restraining order against him. The police officers arrested the man for violating the restraining order. The officers emphasized to the woman involved to leave that man alone and to think about your child. The police officers also asked for her opinion on what she thinks the exposure to domestic violence is doing to her child and she responds with â€Å"I love him.† Majority of domestic violence disputes between guardians the child or children get caged in with the violence. The element of the domestic violence crime served for the foundation of the video selected, which is the silent cries for help for the children who are exposed to severe violence between their family members. The news reporter in the video interviewed the children who witness their  mothers getting battered by her boyfriend, or ex – lover. The audio for from the questions asked by the reporter was very troubling to hear about and the things they see and hear. In the video a young girl being interviewed disclosed how she heard her mother’s boyfriend state he was gone to kill her mother first, and then the children. To imagine how the child felt fear for each time the child heard or saw him and when the child did not know where her mother was is very horrific. The specific feeling when a child develops a negative intuition such as when their mother’s life may be in jeopardy, but the fact what if the children are watching is never taken into consideration. The cri minological theories, that could best explain the occurrence rate of this type of crime is the attachment theory, and social process theory. The attachment theory is a component of psychological theories. According to John Bowlby, the components of the attachment theory beginning with a bond between people through childhood experiences (Bowlby, 1990). If a child is denied any emotional need such as a strong, natural, emotional bond the child may eventual find the emotional bond elsewhere such as gangs and possibly becoming juvenile delinquents (Schmalleger, 2012). The second theory is the social process theory which governs the thoughts on how someone may have become the person he or she are currently. Researchers have debatable beliefs that a person’s behavior comes from the environment around him or her. The ethical perspective of the children exposed to domestic violence may be corrupted. Ethical absolutism which is the decisions made is based on past experiences. According to Peter Singer (1995), â€Å"ethical absolutism argues that there exists an eternal and unchanging moral law, the same for all people, at all times and places. The absolutist believes that certain moral principles apply to all people everywhere, and that people can recognize or discover these principles and be guided by them in deciding the nature of their own conduct and in judging the conduct of others†(Singer, 1995). The reason why this theory was selected is because there high probability that the males commit these types of heinous acts because of past experiences of exposure to extreme violence or some traumatic psychological occurrences in the past. The past experiences which formed their conduct led them to believe that the way to treat women is the same way they witnessed the male figure in their family treating a woman. Researchers still have not found no explanation as to why displaying  disrespect in front of children and others comes as natural behavi or. Professional research studies estimate that about 10% to 20% of juveniles are high at risk for exposure to domestic violence (Child Welfare, 2009). Studies of the amounts of psychological trauma children endure from high amounts of reality violence such as domestic violence, is indicated by psychological detachment and the farther the detachment the higher exposure to violence. Children’s risk levels of having become exposed to domestic violence are about 9 out of every 10 preexist on a continuum where some children demonstrate enormous resiliency although others show signs of maladaptive adjustment (Child Welfare, 2009). Domestic violence is already considered serious but the exposure of violence to children needs to be taken more serious with heavier consequences. The majority of the citizens in the United States can disclose a lengthy story from past experiences to exposure to domestic violence and how the events affect them as a person. Reference Child Welfare. (2009). Child Welfare Information Gateway. Retrieved from: www.childwelfare.gov/pubs/factsheets/domesticviolence.cfm Singer, P. (1995). Ethical Importance in Criminal Justice. Retrieved from: http://www.sagepub.com/upm-data/46945_CH_1.pdf Schmalleger, F. (2012). Criminology today: An integrative introduction. (6th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.