Crime involved
Jane is a victim of spousal abuse for the past 5 years. Spousal abuse is the primary abuse that has negatively affected her life. Criminal law describes spousal abuse as a form of domestic violence characterized by verbal, emotional, or physical abuse (Malley-Morrison and Hines 3). Acts of threats and coercion by a spouse are also considered spousal abuse. During her marriage life, Jane was coerced into doing unpleasant activities and upon resistance, she was verbally abused.
For the record, Jane first experienced spousal abuse at the age of 27 years. The subsequent spousal abuse made Jane a drug addict and was once jailed for 6 months for drugs possession. However, she was later released from jail was continually subjected to spousal abuse by her husband.
Initial feelings
During the spouse abuse period, Jane felt humiliated and confused about the next step of action. The shock of living with an abusive spouse is nauseating. Living in denial is a normal occurrence during the initial stages of abuse. Sometimes, Jane thought that the abuser will change in due time. However, this never changes and the shame of letting others know about the abuse is intense. With time, the traumatic bonding with the abuser becomes real. In this regard, Jane felt connected with the abuser irrespective of the existing predicaments. Considering that she was abused while young and not financially stable, sticking with the abuser due to financial and social dependency was a major factor.
During the period of spousal abuse, feeling worthless is a normal emotion. In addition, Jane’s self-esteem deteriorated with time, and was unable to socialize with other people. Consequently, she started to experience Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). To be precise, her happiness was eroded by continuous spousal abuse over the years. Eventually, this affected her ability and capacity to act as a parent. Consequently, Jane was unable to make conscious decisions without fear of abuse and reprimanding.
Police and legal systems
After experiencing spousal abuse for a long time, Jane decided to report the situation to the nearby police station. Based on physical evidence of burns and broken ribs as diagnosed in a nearby healthcare facility, her husband was arrested. The local police have a gender-based violence department that serves cases related to spousal abuse. The officers in charge of the special department are well trained and know how to handle victims of spousal abuse. The police department treated her case as a criminal offense and recommended further treatment at the local healthcare facility. The department recommended counseling services be offered immediately. However, the police department ensured that the local healthcare facility offering counseling and treatment services was registered by the Office on Women’s Health (OWH). The police also advised for a further review of the case at a victim service center.
At the healthcare facility, various diagnostic tests were conducted to ensure that she does not have a serious medical condition as a result of abuse. In addition, she received medication for minor injuries that required immediate nursing at the time.
Upon recommendation to seek services at the state’s victim service center by the police, Jane was unable to proceed to the center for services and other resources. At the victim service center, she would have been given an attorney to represent her case at the court. In addition, Jane was unable to access therapy sessions and other forms of compensation.
Life impact
Although Jane reported the case, the same has had both negative and positive impacts on her life. The spousal abuse experience affects the general welfare of an individual. In this regard, the spousal abuse experience caused anxiety, fear, and hatred. From experience, Jane has a negative attitude towards married life. Jane’s self-esteem was affected by the ordeal and had to undergo counseling sessions to revive the same. For a long time, she socially withdrew from friends and family members for fear of ridicule and sympathy. Initially, this affected her relationship with relatives and other community members. Jane’s life has positively changed since she reported the spousal abuse case to the police. For example, the counseling sessions helped improve her self-esteem, and yearned to help victims of spousal abuse in society. After recovering from the ordeal, she joined efforts with the OWH to create public awareness about spousal abuse. In this regard, she supports the establishment of a special department in the local police stations where victims of spousal abuse are served.
During her spousal abuse experience, the media were not involved in any way. However, Jane believes that the media should play a critical role in creating public awareness about spousal abuse. The media can aid in educating victims of spousal abuse that there exists a justice system that can intervene on their behalf.
Areas to improve
As indicated earlier, the police department is the first area of concern in case of spousal abuse. In this regard, the police authorities should establish special departments that address issues of gender-based violence (Bott, Morrison and Ellsberg 3). Moreover, policies derived from OWH can be used to ascertain the nature of spousal abuse against women from the reported cases. The special department should have counseling professionals who can handle delicate cases of spousal abuse and eventually make recommendations. Since Jane attended counseling sessions for one year, she recommends that the counseling sessions be extended for an additional 6 months. Moreover, critical counseling lessons that address family therapy should be included as part of the counseling class. In this regard, the counseling sessions can also focus on helping families cope with a member undergoing psychological distress. Consequently, a diagnostic medical review by a healthcare facility with recommendations from the police department should be evaluated. Therefore, medical experts who deal with special gender-based violence cases are critical in addressing spousal abuse in society.
The legal system dealing with gender-based violence should be improved to address the spousal abuse cases (Morrison, Ellsberg, and Bott 27). For example, the legal system should provide an attorney to the victim who has been abused. Another recommendation to improve on the same is a compensation scheme for the victim. The legal system should also provide the abuser with an attorney for purposes of a fair presentation and trial. Considering that the abuser may try to interrupt the judicial process of a spouse abuse case, the legal system should consider providing witness protection to the victim. The victim service center should also be equipped with adequate facilities that serve the victim in all aspects. For example, victim education, counseling, and how to improve in life should be prioritized at the victim service centers.
In conclusion, Jane believes that the legal system should be thorough in handling cases of spouse abuse. Sometimes, victims of spouse abuse exaggerate their ordeal to punish their abusers. In this regard, the legal system has the mandate to ensure that the abuser is reserved the right to plead innocence and a fair trial.
Works Cited
Bott, Sarah, Morrison, D. Andrew and Ellsberg, Mary. Preventing and responding to gender-based violence in the middle and low-income countries: a global review and analysis. Washington: World Bank, 2005. Print.
Malley-Morrison, Kathleen and Hines, Denise. Family violence in a cultural perspective: Defining, understanding, and combating abuse. California: Sage, 2004. Print.
Morrison, Andrew, Ellsberg, Mary and Bott, Sarah. “Addressing Gender-Based Violence: A critical review of interventions.” The World Bank Research Observer 22.1 (2007): 25-51. Print.