Texas has well-established laws on relational abuse, and it is a requirement for the individuals involved to report incidents of neglect, exploitation, or abuse, especially of minors and children, whether it is an allegation, suspicion, or witness of these offences. This paper aims to discuss the laws governing three domestic violence laws, including domestic assault laws, aggravated domestic assault laws and continuous violence against the family laws.
Domestic assault laws consider the action as a class A misdemeanour and recognized as a third-degree felony. The offence includes physical. Emotional or sexual harm done against a family member. Physical abuse refers to the intentional action of harming an individual through the use of excessive force that causes injury or death (Black et al., 2001). Sexual abuse is the cohesion of a minor to indulge in sexual activities or the use of force to initiate sex. These offences are rape and child defilement. Emotional abuse is the act of intentionally threatening or humiliating a child, which is mostly done verbally (Richards et al., 2017).
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Continuous violence against family is a third-degree felony in Texas, and they include cases of child neglect and abuse. There have been rising cases of child neglect, and the witness is required to help locate the child in question by providing evidence about the incident and location of occurrence by providing the child’s home address or daycare location. The person reporting the case is also expected to avail specific details about the child, such as their name, date of birth, emergency contacts, and health issues (“Department of Family and Protective Services,” 2021). The law also requires the reporter to report every detail they know about the child. This includes their age, disability, behaviour, type of injury, and the amount of danger the child experiences. They are expected to report each detail of the event and the factors surrounding the incident of abuse. This requires the disclosure of where, when, who, what, and how the incident took place. The law also encourages one to report abuse, neglect, and exploitation incidents even when in doubt whether the case is valid or not.
The Texas state law on domestic on aggravated domestic assault states that it is a punishable offence for family members to cause bodily harm on members of their family using deadly weapons or through reckless action. Aggravated domestic violence is an act of violence by a family member against another member who causes physical or emotional harm. This law states that domestic violence done by a deadly weapon is termed as a first-degree felony, while other cases of domestic violence rate second-degree felonies (Baldwin, 2021) . The intensity of the felony dictates the level of punishment given to the perpetrator.
There are resources for treatment and support of relational abuse in Texas. The first resource is the provision of the National Domestic Violence Hotline, which makes it easier for a reporter to report the case and seek justice for the victim. Texas also has TexCare partnership which is a type of insurance for children and minors under the age of 18, and it takes care of all their health issues, including physical injuries and high-risk emergencies.
Another resource for treatment is the psychiatric facility that enables the treatment of emotionally abused victims through therapy sessions and medication. This facility helps individuals to process their emotions and trauma caused by relational abuse. Special care units are also available to cater to physical abuse and emergencies. Childcare centers have been set up to rescue children undergoing neglect and abuse from their caregivers.
Conclusively, the discussed state laws on domestic violence have provided channels of reporting, such as the Texas Health and Human Service Commission (HHSC), which allows reporting cases concerning children in foster care, assisted facilities, nursing facilities, and adult care facilities. The Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS) availability helps when reporting abuse against persons with disabilities or elderly adults living in long-term facilities.
References
Baldwin, L. (2021). Texas Domestic Violence Laws . www.criminaldefenselawyer.com. https://www.criminaldefenselawyer.com/resources/texas-domestic-violence-laws.htm .
Department of Family and Protective Services - when and how to report child abuse. (2021). https://www.dfps.state.tx.us/Child_Protection/Child_Safety/report_abuse.asp
Richards, T. N., Tillyer, M. S., & Wright, E. M. (2017). Intimate partner violence and the overlap of perpetration and victimization: Considering the influence of physical, sexual, and emotional abuse in childhood. Child Abuse & Neglect , 67 , 240-248.
TEXAS LAW: Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation Reporting . (2021). https://www.fostercaretx.com/newsroom/texas-law-abuse-neglect-and-exploitation-reporting-06212019.html [A12]
