Domestic violence is something about which a lot of people don’t like talking. For years, society felt like as long as it was taking place in private, behind closed doors, it wasn’t something people should discuss. However, times have changed, and people realize that domestic violence is something that we must confront and root out.
Violence is never the answer to a domestic squabble, nor is it the appropriate way to discipline a child. If you try to solve problems with blows rather than words, it can have many negative life impacts.
Let’s discuss a few domestic violence facts about which you should be aware.
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The Law Considers Many Acts to be Domestic Violence
Domestic violence is a wide-ranging legal term. It might include:
- Punching
- Kicking
- Choking
While things like punching and kicking someone obviously fall into the domestic violence category, throwing an object at someone might also constitute domestic violence. The same goes for picking up an object and striking a family member with it.
The law could consider taking someone by the shoulders and shaking them to be domestic violence. Any time you stop using your words, and you get physical in some way, that’s very possibly domestic violence, and the law can punish you accordingly.
It Diminishes Love and Affection
If you love someone, you should never hit them, shake them, throw things at them, etc. You need to find a way to use your words. That’s because:
- When you use violence to solve a problem, love evaporates
- It reveals you have a cruel side
Maybe your parents raised you with corporal punishment. These acts perpetuate themselves, and you might try the same thing with your spouse, partner, or children.
This makes things extraordinarily hard on them. They probably love you, but when you act this way, you’re killing those affectionate feelings. They’ll come to see you as a flawed human being who does not truly respect or love them in return.
Maybe a partner will stay with you for a while, but if you resort to violence to solve problems, they will probably leave you sooner or later. It’s something you brought on yourself.
Any Family Member Can Be a Domestic Violence Target
Most people think that domestic violence happens between partners, or when one spouse abuses the other. That happens, but any family member can be a domestic violence target.
You might target a parent, sibling, aunt, uncle, cousin, etc. If you have a temper, you might take it out on anyone who lives under your roof.
If they live with you, a person can file a domestic violence complaint against you regardless of what your relationship is. If you find that you’re terrorizing your whole family, you know that you need to get help to figure out other behavior patterns. You may need extensive therapy or anger management to get yourself under control.
It Can Cost You Your Job
Another way domestic violence can cost you is if your boss finds out about it. If the cops come and haul you away for hitting a family member, you might miss work the next day while you’re getting the legal details sorted out.
It’s hard to conceal domestic strife, and the reason for an arrest becomes public record. You can try to hide it, but if this happens more than once, your work will likely find out about it before long.
Your professional life does not matter as much as patching things up with your fraying family unit, but it’s one more thing about which you should think if you’re starting to lose your temper.
You Could Face Jail time
You should also understand that if you make your family domestic violence targets, they can file a restraining order against you. If you hurt them badly enough, you could also face jailtime.
Hitting someone, either in your family or outside of it, is shameful behavior. It signals animalistic rage inside you that you need to control.
No matter how frustrated you get, you need to use your words or find a way to remove yourself from the conversation before it escalates further. If you fly off the handle, you might do something you regret. You could end up in jail, serving a lengthy sentence, and your family might not be there waiting when you get out.
Humans are not wild animals, and if you have a violent streak, there is no reason you can’t master that rage and learn another way.
