Service Experience

The organization I went to go help at was Family Shelter Services for women of domestic violence in Naperville. For confidential purposes the address can not be shared. Tracye was the director of the home and that is who I was talking to in order to get my hours done. I ended up with 15 service hours because another class required hours as well. To finish up my service hours I went throughout the whole semester.
The whole project was to help renovate a children's playroom. Years before the basement had been ruined by a busted pipe in the wall and flooded the basement. My group and I helped renovate essentially the whole room. We painted the room and now we are working on decorating the basement.
We all took part in organizing the left over toys and throwing away the old ones that weren't useful. We all took turns cleaning and painting. We even made a Facebook page to keep in constant communication on what had to be done. Even though the page was made the communication sometimes was frustrating and that is the only time we all were. Other than that we all enjoyed fixing the room for a good cause. We are determined to finish the room even though it looks like it will roll over to summer work. We really want to see the finished product.
I learned a lot about domestic violence not only at the shelter but also in class. It is nice to know there are nonprofit organizations like these to help women and their children. I would defiantly recommend helping out at any organization with domestic violence involvement. I really enjoyed it and would do it all over again.

Facebook Page

Connecting Sources

Domestic violence is a very touchy subject and difficult to not to have bias in. Many people have different views on how to solve the issue and my examples are my sources. Although some of my sources have a different view on domestic violence procedures most can agree on some. In Rebecca, Emerson Dobash article,  "Domestic Violence: Arrest, Prosecution, and Reducing Violence" she addresses the justice side of domestic violence and all the procedural aspects. Domestic violence has been linked to intimate partner violence and now with more studies family violence. This article by Rebecca goes hand in hand with all my other sources as they all unwind their own solutions for domestic violence. In another source by David Adams, "Psychologist: Some Domestic Abusers Want To Change — And Can" . abusers are given the benefit of the doubt and are believed to be able to change if given the right resources. Many view domestic violence as just being resolved with jail time or some type of punishment. David implies giving the abusers the right care and they are able to change. Abusers can change and are now willing to change. It is more likely to reduce domestic violence rates if the abusers seek treatment and not just get punished for it.
The "Domestic Violence: Arrest, Prosecution, and Reducing Violence" article explains just as the title suggests. Rebecca shares information on domestic violence  calls and how they are classified. She also explains that the origin of domestic violence is intimate partners but now have been dealing with family violence. She explains domestic violence in those two aspects. Even though this source only speaks on stats of domestic violence it ties in with the rest of my sources. In the remainder of my sources there are different views in how to deal with the rules of domestic violence. Two of my sources require to help the abusers and the rest of the sources explain the basics of violence. They all include statistics based on domestic violence calls and cases.

Source Speak Paraphrasing

“Since the 1970s, police and courts have been the focus of attention concerning their responses to the problem of violence between intimate partners, and there have been numerous efforts to respond more effectively to this problem. Generally, these efforts have been in the areas of protection orders to assist victims of violence, arrest of the perpetrators, and in some areas, experimentation with alternative sanctions in the form of abuser programs and other forms of focused work within probation.”

1.      The efforts for dealing with domestic violence have changed and evolved over time. These changes have included arresting the abusers and finding treatment for them.

2.      Not only have the victims been a part of changing domestic violence, so have the abusers. Changing the abusers ways can help prevent future incidents.

3.      Abusers receiving treatments for domestic violence have been more dedicated in the sense of wanting to change. Programs for helping abusers could really help lower the domestic violence rate.

“That really reflects kind of the larger problem with abusers in general, which is the single I think most surprising characteristic is that they are not easy to identify, you know, that most abusers really lead a double life. And I would go so far as to say that many abusers are more likeable than their victims, and I think the reason is that they're charming, but also I think domestic violence affects victims more than it affects abusers.”

1.      Abusers in a sense do have a double life and can choose to change their ways or not.

2.      The abusers in most cases are more likely to be more likeable than the victims. The victims tend to be more outraged while the abuser keeps calm and tries to be charming.

3.      Domestic violence does indeed affect the victim more due to the mental or physical abuse while the abuser doesn’t. On the other hand though, abusers can be affected by domestic violence in their early childhood if experienced any, they repeat the pattern.

 

Abusers are believed to be able to change if the right help is provided. For example, going to AA like meetings, but in this case the meetings would be about domestic violence. The efforts for stopping or preventing domestic violence has changed throughout the years. The treatment options have been helping the abusers understand the pain or damage that they are causing in order for them to change their ways. Abusers reaching out for help have declined the domestic violence rate. The abusers have a double life which consists of being abusive or charming. Experiencing domestic violence as a child can often lead to repeating the pattern as an adult. This has been linked to abusers wanting to stop the cycle.

 

Annotated Bibliography Cont.

Adams, David. "Psychologist: Some Domestic Abusers Want To Change — And Can." Here Now RSS. N.p., 16 Sept. 2013. Web. 03 Apr. 2015.

This article is a non-academic source. It replaced on of my scholarly journals because I didn't think it was the right fit. This new article talks about how domestic violence abusers want to change. The article includes some really good statistics about domestic violence. The article mainly goes on about how the abuser can change or is willing to change. Also it advocates on having programs to help these individuals that once were a part of domestic violence.

 

Boss, Angie. "Recent Trends in Treating Domestic Violence Offenders." PsychologyDegreeGuideorg Recent Trends in Treating Domestic Violence Offenders Comments. N.p., n.d. Web. 03 Apr. 2015.

 

This article is another non-academic source. It explains how many treatment  options have failed for the abusers. The only option that seems to be working in domestic violence cases seems to be batter's intervention programs. For example in these programs they address all levels of violence. This program allows the abuser to speak through their issues and try to come up with a plan to change their behavior.

Annotated Bibliography

Rebecca, Emerson Dobash. "Domestic Violence: Arrest, Prosecution, and Reducing Violence." Criminology & Public Policy 2.2 (2003): 313-7. ProQuest. Web. 23 Mar. 2015.

This article touches bases on the justice side of domestic violence. It speaks on what is to be done about domestic violence. It has details about domestic violence when it was barely starting to be known in the 1970s.Domestic violence has been linked to family violence when in reality it is the same. Domestic violence is any abuse suffered in the home by a family member or intimate partner.     Most only associate domestic violence with intimate partners. I feel like this article is appropriate for the topic I am trying to reach. It speaks  on the justice side of domestic violence which is dealt with a lot in the law enforcement field and also in explaining what domestic violence is.

Morgan, Angela, and Michael Freeman. "Domestic Violence." Journal of social policy 38 (2009): 539-41. ProQuest. Web. 23 Mar. 2015.

This article focused on explaining the effects of domestic violence or child abuse in children. More topics explained in the article happen to be neglect, kidnapping, legislations and etc on domestic violence. Domestic violence in this article is said to have a profound effect on many children. It also mentions how exposure to violence can be considered child abuse. This article has good details and facts I can use for my paper. I feel like more details could have been more helpful, Regardless this article was the second best one I found. It touches bases on the legislative part of domestic violence and explains the effects children endure.

David, A. Ford. "Domestic Violence." Contemporary Sociology 32.4 (2003): 426. ProQuest. Web. 23 Mar. 2015.

The article was based on a review or reflection of another persons work. It was  based on a documentary  film by Frederick Wiseman. The film is centered in the largest shelter for battered women in Florida. The article goes into depth about how the film lets the viewers experience stories of the victims, The article includes some quotes out of the film. The article is said that violence from being an adult comes from violence experienced or seen as a child. At first I thought this article would not be a good fit for topic. As I began to read further I learned otherwise. It has some helpful details I could really use in my paper.

Project Proposal

My project would be to explain the different aspects of domestic violence. Domestic violence has been belittled for a long time with it being the largest problem in the law enforcement field. My first question would be addressing what is being done for domestic violence awareness. Not everyone is educated about domestic violence and their harmful effects. My second question would be how is domestic violence affecting not only women but also their children if any and the people around them. Many tend to turn a blind eye to the children being involved in domestic violence and do not realize the effects it has on them too. My last question would be how can one be educated about domestic violence without gender biased and also what programs or treatment options are there for the abusers.

Domestic violence is a big part in the law enforcement field. 46% of the calls dispatched are domestic violence calls related. My thesis will roughly be sounding something similar to; Domestic violence is an underestimated problem in reality it is the prime cause for abuse in the home. Domestic violence affects everyone in the home and finding ways to solve them can be difficult without the law enforcement help. Enforcing domestic violence reforms or laws would definitely help save lives from undergoing this abuse, but what programs can be given to the abusers to prevent future abuse or any at all.