Domestic Violence

Domestic violence can be described in various ways, but in this context, it will be referred to as an act when one is abused by a person whom they are or were intimately involved with them dating or being in a spousal relationship. Domestic violence does not encompass violence against women only; it also includes both genders in a relationship as well as relationships of gay and lesbian couples. It consists of a channel of coercive conducts of an adult that is competent or adolescent to build and keep up their power over another responsible adult or youth. The issue of domestic violence is not a new phenomenon, and throughout the history, it has been sanctioned:
When you see your wife commit an offence, don't rush at her with insults and violent blows, scold her sharply, bully and terrify her, and if this doesn't work take up a stick and beat her soundly. For it is better to punish the body and correct the soul, than to damage the soul and spare the body. Then readily beat her, not in rage, but out of charity and concern for her soul so the beating will be down to your merit and her good.
The above quote is taken from a marriage manual of the 15th century shows that what today is considered as domestic abuse was previously accepted as a way of correcting and dominating over women. Domestic violence is currently a controversial issue in the healthcare sector implying that most of the women (who make up 90% of domestic violence victims) seek medical treatment five times more often than the ones who are not victims. The World Health Organization states that women who are victims of domestic violence puts an undue weight on health care providers since females who have endured violence will probably require healthcare services at the higher costs compared to the ladies who have not faced abuse.
Some studies have shown that the poor treatment of women and violence are linked. The studies prove that the abuse of women in the general public is an indicator of inter and intra-national violence. Domestic violence victims are subjected to mental issues, physical injuries as well as death through either homicide or suicide. Thus, this places a heavy weight on the health care department as it has become an issue that the health sector has invested so much time and finances trying to diminish it.
My position is that domestic violence is one of the most discussed topics in the health sector, and it needs a lot of attention for the world to fight it. Most of the cultures are facing the issue including my own community in Cuba. An article in Huffington Post states, Gender violence affects an unknown number of victims in Cuba every day, but the statistics of these reprehensible acts do not come to light. It is hard to overcome the issue because most of the victims are afraid to reveal the issue; the society does not want to get involved, and in some cultures, it is a common practice that is accepted. In their response to domestic violence, U.S Catholic Bishops stated, Violence against women, inside or outside the home, is never justified. Violence in any form of physical, sexual, psychological, or verbal is sinful; often, it is a crime as well. In this modern era, the issue remains and will likely remain in future.
The issue affects me as a healthcare provider because when I will find out that my patient is domestically abused, due to Patient-Doctor-Confidentiality, I will not be able to file a report. Although I will be in a position to treat some of the physical injuries of the patient, it is hard for me to understand the psychological side of my patient. It is hard to treat patients that do not have emotional support from their spouses or partners; this affects me as a professional health care provider.
I suggest that the Hospital Ethics Committee (HEC) roles and responsibilities should be distributed equally among young and senior doctors. The young members will be able to help the committee address domestic violence issues among the youth as they will be familiar with the current trends regarding the issue. HEC also leaves most of the practitioners with a question to what extent they can advocate for their patients. Taking a domestic abuse issue to the HEC without a patients consent is an infringement of the patients rights. Also, dealing with the issue as a practitioner without acknowledging the HEC might appear as overstepping boundaries. Thus, it is vital for the HEC to make changes that will accommodate such kind of issues to provide a uniform background for both practitioners and patients.
One of the main concerns in the health care sector is a lack of proper training specifically on how to deal with domestic violence victims. Most of the health care providers state that such a victim is a difficult one to address and most of them cannot make the victims open up to them. With health care providers that are professionally trained to properly handle the psychological issue, victims will likely open up and not go back to being abused. Practitioners are the first people whom victims see without their abusers; thus, if they are well trained to make victims feel comfortable, it will not be difficult for the latter to open up. I suggest carrying out a routine screening to all clients that could be victims of domestic violence.
The current policy is the Violence against Women Act. The plan focuses on bringing together the government agencies and the advocates of the victims in fighting against the issues of domestic violence. The plan established new punishments for the abusers and created programs that prevent domestic violence and give aid to the victims.
Considering that most of the victims are not able to manage their hospital bills, insurance and health care reforms are to be considered to give them an opportunity to have a free access to health services. These health care reforms should also include training programs for practitioners that will focus on dealing with victims of domestic violence.
The most important ethical theories that should be at the forefront are the ones which promote gender equality making every victim believe that they can stand up for themselves. Ethical theories that can be used at the forefront may include Virtue Ethics. According to Aristotle, humans are sophisticated creatures that have got the ability to reason. That ability gets consistently tempered by emotional reactions which turn to affect the human judgement. With the theological virtues (faith, hope, and charity), the professionals moral agents will be explored in the process of learning how to promote good conduct through habitual practice.
Robert Cooper is an writer at the https://123helpme.org/articles/write-my-memo-for-me/ He conducts researches on various issues. The most interesting cases are on modern politics and business development.