Recent research has shown that the effect of domestic violence on victims can be catastrophic. Most but not all victims are female; often from minority groups, with children also being affected by scenes of violence. The victims suffer both physical and emotional damage. In many cases they must end the relationship with the perpetrator, when legal and psychological intervention fails. Frequently, it is only in this way that the death of a victim could be prevented but so often the victim forgives the perpetrator and returns to them. Much more effort could and should be made to prevent such tragedies by a combination of more effective legal and psychological interventions.
The article considers the affect on the victims; the children; other cultures and minority populations; the employment opportunities of the victims; the perpetrators of domestic violence; and gender factors.
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