Domestic violence, also referred to as intimate partner violence, is the emotional, physical, sexual or verbal abuse of one’s partner. In general public discourse, the term is often used interchangeably with violence against women. While this is understandable since women are often the victims of male-perpetrated domestic abuse, it is misleading since domestic violence encompasses all ages, races, genders, and sexual orientations. With the growing global acceptance of the LGBT and increasing awareness of the role of women in violence perpetration, this traditional perception is undoubtedly misleading (Alejo, 2014) . While there is a vast body of literature concerned with the effects of domestic violence more so on children, there exists a paucity of research on the effects this violence has on adults as a whole. Notably, this is because it has been deemed to be more consequential to focus on more specific categories like men and women. In this regard, this paper notes that there is value in paying focus on a broader category, particularly when assessing the spillover effects and thinking about remedies, which often demand corrective action not from a single but both actors.
Domestic violence is a prevalent phenomenon in both the developing and developed world. In the United States alone, between one and five million American women suffer non-fatal abuse at the hands of their partners. While adults are the focus here, it is worth underscoring that the phenomenon transcends any single religious, ethnic, racial or age group (Alejo, 2014) . Demographics notwithstanding, domestic violence is overwhelmingly perpetrated against women. Research reveals that women are ten times more likely than men to undergo domestic violence. The Department of Justice reveals that between 1998 and 2002, females were victims of 73% of family violence, and 84% of spouse abuse victims were women. Not only are women disproportionately represented in domestic abuse cases, but they are also the majority of victims in the most serious assault incidences (Bettinger-Lopez & Natelson, 2011). As such, it is estimated that in the United States alone, over three women are murdered by their partners on a daily basis. Government sources also reveal that up to 33% of American women have in the course of their adulthood suffered physical assault in the hands of their partner (Bettinger-Lopez & Natelson, 2011). However, many of these cases go unreported due to retribution fears and feelings of shame. Some observers attribute the historical characterization of domestic abuse as a family or private matter as the single most important factor causing underreporting.
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Globally, the World Health Organization reports that between 30% and 60% of women are likely to be victims of sexual violence with sexual and physical violence being the most prevalent. The number is significantly higher in the developing relative to the developed world. The report observes that women are more likely to be victims of abuse in the hands of a partner than in the hands of an unknown perpetrator (Sarkar, 2010). The study, however, focused on domestic violence against women alone and, therefore, does not offer much insights on domestic violence against other adults categories like men or in same-sex marriages.
Men also often suffer forms of abuse including emotional torture and battering. Estimates from the Domestic violence Resource Center suggest that while between six hundred thousand and six million women experience domestic violence annually, between one hundred thousand and six million men are domestic violence victims (2003). According to one survey, up to 7.9% of men reported having experienced some form of domestic violence in the course of their lives (Sullivan, 2018) . Though this percentage is considerably lower than that of women, it is sizable enough not to be ignored
In same-sex or heterosexual relationships, both men and women are perpetrators of domestic violence. However, few studies have given much attention to domestic violence within this category. Those that have, nonetheless, make some interesting findings. Owen and Burke, expecting to find greater domestic violence in heterosexual relationships, found that gay relationships had more violence than heterosexual relationships while lesbian relationships had lower albeit serious violence levels (2004). Many, influenced by conventional wisdom, have imagined that lower lesbian violence implies that women are less violent and, therefore, same-sex violence is limited (Alejo, 2014) . Such misconceptions have led to the notion that homosexual relationships have no domestic violence. This is, however, misleading. The problem is that most same-sex domestic violence incidents are not reported due to the absence of societal support, including that of law enforcement. As acceptance of the LGBT community permeates more sections of society, a more accurate picture can be expected.
The basis of domestic occurring violence is wide-ranging and will often vary based on structural, economic, and cultural factors. Cultural proclivities have often been blamed on many spates of domestic violence witnessed in the developing and developed world. To the feminist thinker, it is the patriarchal system that puts men above women that is to blame. Society casts men as inherently superior to women and, therefore, legitimizing the abuse of the latter. Feminists also draw attention to value systems such as prioritization of men property rights above those of women and customs like the payment of bride price, which put unwarranted expectations on men (Bettinger-Lopez & Natelson, 2011) . These views certainly hold water in a number of instances and could significantly explain violence against women in places like India.
Others are keen to identify legal and political systems as the root cause of domestic violence in the United States and abroad. In this regard, occasional references are made to legal definitions of domestic abuse and rape, low literacy levels amongst women relative to men, insensitive treatment of heterosexual persons and abused women by law enforcement, limited women participation in the political system, flippant treatment of domestic violence incidents, discriminatory child custody, maintenance, and inheritance practices amongst other factors (Kumar, 2012) . These concerns are certainly legitimate though their force is often contextual.
The effects of such violence are often far-reaching with spillovers on children, the aging, and other social entities. Understanding the effects of this violence on not just the victim but also the perpetrator is, therefore, significant. Many people often tend to confine assessment of these effects only on the victim. Such an approach, however, omits to appreciate that victims are not the only group that sustains injuries (Alejo, 2014) . Perpetrators themselves often suffer enormous emotional and psychological turmoil in relation to the whole violence. The frequently reported effects include substance abuse, depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, and low self-esteem.
Depression is a common clinical diagnosis for adult victims of domestic violence. A clinical illness, depression is associated with such pathologies as lack or prolonged sleep, major changes in appetite, inability to function, and low energy levels (Karakurt, Smith, & Whiting, 2014) . Chronic depression is associated with suicidal ideation, which could extend to suicide attempts. Some studies suggest that a battered woman is four times more likely to be depressed than a non-abused woman. Additionally, depression among men is often associated with increased substance abuse often characterized by excessive alcoholism. In a seminal study, Kernic et al. (2003) found that battered women are more likely to be depressed and that such depression reduces as abuse ceases.
Post-traumatic Stress Disorder is yet another pathology closely associated with domestic violence. Between 40 and 60% of women victims are reported to suffer from PTSD. The emergence of PTSD is characterized by exposure to violence- stressors- accompanied by safety fears and a feeling of helplessness in controlling situations (Karakurt, Smith, & Whiting, 2014) . Some of the more common symptoms of PTSD include emotional numbing, nightmares and flashbacks, avoidance of reminders of trauma, and intensified physical arousals such as sleeping difficulties and increased startle response (Sarkar, 2010) . Research sugge sts that sexual assault is the form of domestic violence most likely to lead to PTSD. While many violence victims may have a good number of PTSD symptoms, they may not always meet the diagnostic criteria for PTSD diagnosis, suggesting increased variability of anxiety and trauma in violence victims relative to those who have not undergone violence.
Substance abuse is also a likely behavioral response to intimate partner violence. More often than not, adult victims and perpetrators of domestic violence receive medication more than the non-victimized. Fowler, in a 2007 study, examined domestic violence and concluded that 66% of domestically abused women were at a high vulnerability of substance abuse. He also found that 60% were dependent on alcohol and 55% were dependent on drugs (Fowler, 2007). The direction of causality with respect to domestic violence and substance abuse is important to establish. Indeed, it is widely accepted that substance abuse can instigate domestic violence though the latter may also cause or reinforce the former.
Victims and even perpetrators of violence are likely to feel shame, guilt, and self-blame. Consequently, this often leads to a vicious cycle of victims with negative images about themselves and, therefore, unable to take the requisite steps to exit the abusive relationship (Karakurt, Smith, & Whiting, 2014) . More damages to self-esteem can take place if the society-friends, acquaintances , and professionals- blame the victims for the misfortune for failing to exit abusive relationships early (Kumar, 2012) . These mental health problems may range from mild to severe depending on the extent of abuse and individual response to the violence.
There are also numerous physical health effects associated with domestic violence including fractures of the neck, abdomen, pelvis, and chest as well as bleeding and bruises. Physical violence takes multiple forms including kicking, yelling, punching, hitting against the wall, slapping amongst many others. The consequences of such action can be headaches, backache, seizures, fainting, and cardiac problems among others. Other problems may be less conspicuous including decreased libido, transmission of STDs, and genital tract infections amongst others. Fetal death and deformed infants have on occasion been reported for pregnant women (Alejo, 2014) . Ultimately, domestic violence becomes most pernicious when it leads to death leaving children and even the elderly with no form of social support.
Interventions
Thanks to the corrosive impact of domestic violence on the well-being of individuals and society as a whole, various initiatives have been launched in a bid to reverse this tide. At the governmental level, the concern has been to get the right policies into place. The federal government has generally shied away from domestic violence issues leaving the mandate to local and state authorities. The capacity of this level of government to address this question has, however, been faulted given the manner in which such matters have been resolved within the criminal justice system.
Police officers have on occasion been faulted for treating domestic violence casually. Records exist of police officers urging victims to ‘work it out’ with the perpetrator. One study reports that 40% of police departments explicitly recommend mediation in domestic violence cases and that about half of all police departments have no formal policy on the matter (Kumar, 2012) . Interestingly, this is despite there being national surveys that demonstrate that most police attempts at mediation often fail. For the battered woman, challenges do not end with reporting cases to law enforcement. The prospect for child separation by child services is extremely high as they are likely going to be forced to take a plea and be charged inappropriately (Kumar, 2012). Essentially, this is particularly daunting for immigrant women and women of color who are already disproportionately affected by domestic violence. In such cases, law enforcement rarely adheres to mandatory arrest laws that require the arrest of the perpetrator. In other instances, while police officers technically do respond, they carry out shoddy and unsatisfactory investigations and do not undertake proper record keeping, harming the prospects of the victim getting justice. Studies indicate that in nearly half of the cases, officers do not take photographs despite victims having visible injuries.
Reforming the criminal justice system is, therefore, one of the primary interventions that have been prioritized by many activists and policymakers. It is held that far-reaching reform of the criminal justice system can encourage victims of domestic violence to report instances of abuse more readily and that perpetrators are deterred from such action when they are brought under the legal microscope. In other words, those who put their confidence in the criminal justice system believe in the power of deterrence. This assumption is, however, not universally shared. Some scholars think that community-based programs are more effective in addressing the prevalence of domestic violence (Sullivan, 2018) . These programs entail the sensitization of various social categories to play a robust role against gender violence. Women are encouraged to change their attitudes about gender violence while the perpetrator’s attention is drawn to the risks and effects of domestic violence. Community-based programs are grounded in the idea that societies can change gradually through education and raising the level of awareness. They also hold that the trauma of domestic violence can be overcome through counseling anchored on corrective action (Owen & Burke, 2004) . In brief, therefore, community-based interventions aim at changes in social behavior through attitudinal shifts and seek to introduce well-being even for previous victims of domestic violence. In addition, national and even local dialogues with all relevant stakeholders are deemed necessary to bring about long-lasting changes. People are encouraged to rethink seemingly answered questions, and the unintended consequences of policy are canvassed. Such dialogue is urgent in light of skepticism within certain categories like immigrants on the necessity of resolving domestic violence.
Reform of the criminal justice system is particularly apt as a response to the pervasiveness of gender-based violence. Police ought to investigate domestic violence with the seriousness of other cases. Perpetrators ought to be taken before the court and incarcerated as punishment for the actions. Indeed, this has a deterrent effect since the consequences of domestic violence are quite evident to the general public. While community interventions are important in bringing about attitudinal shifts, they are more long-term interventions and often need to be reinforced by state-sponsored punitive action. Moreover, the force of counseling and guidance is significant but has its limitations, especially within the context of prolonged abuse.
Nonetheless, it is important to remain awake to the cultural predispositions of particular groups. Particularly, this is because dismissing cultures, even those that oppress certain groups like women, might be deemed as cultural disdain and, therefore, reform efforts met with opposition. Rather, drawing attention to the need to abandon certain cultural practices by highlighting their detrimental effects in a gentle and civilized fashion is a more effective approach. Above all, interventions must remain awake to the traumatic domestic violence-related events that people have undergone (Sullivan, 2018) . Victims ought to be encouraged to confront their trauma instead of running away from it and , therefore, bringing them closer to attaining closure. Ultimately, the failure to appreciate the background of trauma might lead to an ineffective clinical intervention that does not resolve psychological problems, especially in the long term.
References
Alejo, K. (2014). Long-term physical and mental health effects of domestic violence. Journal of Justice Studies .
Bettinger-Lopez, C., & Natelson, R. (2011). Domestic violence in the United States. A preliminary report for U.N. Special Rapporteur on violence against women .
Karakurt, G., Smith, D., & Whiting, J. (2014). Impact of intimate partner violence on women’s mental health. Journal on Family Violence , 693-702.
Kumar, R. (2012). Domestic violence and mental health. Delhi Psychiatry Journal .
Owen, S. S., & Burke, T. W. (2004). An exploration of prevalence of domestic violence in same-sex relationships. Psychological Reports .
Sarkar, M. (2010). A Study on domestic violence against adult and adolescent females in a rural area of West Bengal. Indian Journal of Community Medicine , 311-315.
Sullivan, C. (2018). Understanding how domestic violence support services promote survivor well-being: A conceptual model. Journal of Family Violence , 123-131.
