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Extended Inquiry Project: First Draft

Brains and Battery: Domestic Abuse Victims’ Silence and Struggles

SAAD JALISI

Professor Malcom Campbell

UNIVERSITY WRITING 1103 - HONORS

November 7, 2019
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I vividly remember landing in Denver, Colorado. The harsh audio from the airplane’s

speaker woke me from my relatively peaceful slumber. As the air-hostess’s crackling grumble

carried throughout the economy-class aisle, my slow awakening quite quickly morphed into

panic. I rushed to wipe my eyes of crust and my chin of deep-sleep saliva, and I embarrassingly

found myself face-to-face with another air-hostess kindly requesting the return of the airline’s

blanket to prepare for exit. At the announcement of the “all clear to proceed,” I jumped to my

feet and snatched my carryon from the overhead compartment. Clutching my luggage, I strutted

down towards the end of the cabin, and as I approached my freedom from infantile screams and

the pungent scent of an overused restroom, I caught a glimpse of a foreboding, ash-colored sky.

I inhaled as that overhanging grey blanket reminded me of Karachi, Pakistan during the

monsoon season. Through booming thunder, my mother coddled my sister and me. The scent of

saffron from her auburn hair comforted my racing thoughts, not from the explosive roars of

lightning, but from the meteoric pounding of my father’s footsteps. My mother silently signaled

my sister and me to rush to our rooms as glossy, pearly tears ran down her rosy cheeks and onto

our foreheads. As I shut my bedroom door, I heard my father’s baritone growl as he snatched my

mother’s skull. For the next hour, my mother’s shrill screams of helplessness dissonantly carried

through the corridors with the frenzied booms of her bodily collisions against the tile floor.

I exhaled, relieved that my mother, sister, and I escaped our untold persecution, and I

continued to the next terminal.

My experience falls under a larger umbrella of familial/relationship abuse: domestic

abuse. The Center for Family Justice defines domestic abuse as “a pattern of coercive,

controlling behavior that is a pervasive life-threatening crime affecting people in all our

communities regardless of gender, age, sexual orientation, race, ethnicity, religion, social
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standing and immigration status” (What is Domestic Abuse: Domestic Violence Definition, The

Center for Family Justice). In other words, domestic abuse may include, but is not limited to,

name-calling, physical violence, emotional manipulation, and identity-based discrimination. Commented [1]: could define

Furthermore, roughly fifty percent of men and women experience emotional abuse and

psychological aggression by a partner in their lifetimes, and roughly twenty-five percent of men

and women experience physical abuse. For such a prevalent issue amongst men and women, how

are people affected by domestic abuse? Neurologist Dr. Glynnis Zieman states, “anxiety,

depression and PTSD usually end up being the most severe problems” (“Domestic Violence’s

Overlooked Damage,” Stone); however, patients tend to initially enter the clinic with symptoms

of “headaches, exhaustion, dizziness or problems sleeping” (“Domestic Violence’s Overlooked

Damage,” Stone). On the other hand, abusers, too, may be afflicted with their own issues. For

instance, according to the International Journal of Prisoner Health, authors conducting a study

on twenty-two prisoners possessing backgrounds of inflicting domestic abuse found that each

prisoner emotionally internalized the witnessed abuse from their fathers, and they perpetuated

“benevolent sexism” with their mothers. Although the participants expressed beliefs of female

empowerment directed at their mothers, their expressions of the ideal woman regarded absolute

subordination to men “(a patient, caring, submissive housewife, totally dedicated to her children

and her husband)” (“Prisoners’ Ambivalent Sexism,” Testoni). As domestic abuse can induce

severe issues, such as sexism and mental illness, how are victims combatting their unjust

oppression? Shortly, most victims are not taking action. Commented [2]: Unfortunately

According to Will Stone, a reporter for National Public Radio’s All Things Considered,

survivors of domestic abuse remain “still largely in silence” (Domestic Violence’s Overlooked
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Damage: Concussion and Brain Injury, Stone). For such terrible abuse, why do victims stay

silent about their maltreatment?

Domestic abuse comes in a variety of forms. The Center for Family Justice outlines five

forms of domestic abuse: physical, emotional, economic, stalking and harassment, and sexual.

This diversity in the styles of abuse increases the difficulty in creating universal resolutions for

the affected “10 million people each year” (Domestic Violence’s Overlooked Damage:

Concussion and Brain Injury, Stone). Thus, without established, reliable outlets, these victims

may not possess active knowledge of safe assistance for their issues.

Even before victims of domestic abuse may willingly pursue external support, research

shows that domestic violence stays unrecognized in victims. For example, “about 70 percent of

people seen in the ER for such abuse are never actually identified as survivors of domestic

violence” (Domestic Violence’s Overlooked Damage: Concussion and Brain Injury, Stone).

Physical injuries from domestic abuse, such as bruises and cuts, may be treated, but they are not

cured. Emergency rooms deprive these patients of the careful investigation regarding their

physical trauma. Paired with the fact that “81 percent of...patients had so many hits to the head,

they lost count…” (Domestic Violence’s Overlooked Damage: Concussion and Brain Injury,

Stone), the combination of cognitively impaired memory from head injuries and inattentive

emergency room staff, victims are left undiagnosed with potential life-threatening injuries.

Silence in victims of domestic abuse is not limited to factors of physical violence. In fact,

according to the National Domestic Violence Hotline (NDVH) and the United States Department

of Justice, eighty percent of victims do not present with physical scars. Then, what impedes

survivors’ reporting of abuse? The NDVH presents an answer:


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Survivors typically experience nonviolent forms of abuse long before a physical assault

ever occurs. Unfortunately, law enforcement only reacts when abuse turns physical, and

survivors are not seen as “real victims” until their situation escalates to violence.

Consequently, without legal validation from law enforcement, many survivors of nonviolent

domestic abuse do not believe that they are victims. Additionally, victims may have emotional

connections to the abuser that inhibit the pursuit of action. For example, the law offices of

Graham Donath, J.D. state, “a victim may stay silent because he or she loves the batterer.”

Victims often retain some love their partners despite violence or torment. A relationship exists Commented [3]: for

between the two people, and both the victim and the violator could have a difficult time ending

the relationship. Furthermore, The abuser could financially support the victim and children,

making economic dependence a significant factor. In my family’s case, we felt helpless. Without

physical evidence of the abuse inflicted by my father, as a large majority of the abuse included

verbal degradation, my mother, sister, and I convinced ourselves that any legal action against my

father would fail. My father, at the time, refused to let my mother find employment, so we

depended on my father for financial support, which, too, hindered our access to help.

Fortunately, after years of suffering, my mother, sister, and I filed a restraining order

against my father. We contacted a lawyer, and we learned how to separate ourselves from my

father after a long, fiscally and emotionally draining pursuit of freedom. However, with more

accessible means of assistance, such as better societal education regarding healthy relationships,

other individuals may be able to better combat domestic violence and recover from its drastic,

dire effects. Organizations such as One Love and the National Coalition Against Domestic

Violence have made strides to further educate the public about recognizing domestic abuse and

its victims, but larger, dominant figures, such as employers and politicians, of everyday society
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should seek to implement education about domestic abuse to uphold every person’s physical,

emotional, and financial health.


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Works Cited

“Domestic Violence Statistics: Emotional Abuse Statistics: Gender Equity.” Ananias

Foundation, Ananias Foundation, 17 May 2018, www.ananiasfoundation.org/domestic-

violence-statistics/. Accessed 7 Nov. 2019.

Donath, Graham. “Why Do Domestic Violence Victims Stay Silent?” Law Offices of

Graham D. Donath, APC, 30 Apr. 2018, www.gddlaw.com/2018/03/30/domestic-

violence-victims-stay-silent/. Accessed 7 Nov. 2019.

Muhammad, Mildred. “Silent Scars of Domestic Abuse.” The National Domestic

Violence Hotline, National Domestic Violence Hotline, 12 Apr. 2019,

www.thehotline.org/2018/08/25/silent-scars-of-domestic-abuse/. Accessed 7 Nov. 2019.

Stone, Will. “Domestic Violence's Overlooked Damage: Concussion And Brain Injury.”

All Things Considered, National Public Radio, 30 May 2018,

https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2018/05/30/613779769/domestic-violence-s-

untold-damage-concussion-and-brain-injury. Accessed 7 Nov. 2019.

Testoni, Ines, et al. “Prisoners’ Ambivalent Sexism and Domestic Violence: A Narrative

Study.” International Journal of Prisoner Health, vol. 15, no. 4, Dec. 2019, pp. 332–348.

EBSCOhost, doi:10.1108/IJPH-09-2018-0046. Accessed 7 Nov. 2019.

“What Is Domestic Abuse: Domestic Violence Definition.” The Center for Family

Justice, Center for Family Justice , 2019, https://centerforfamilyjustice.org/faq/domestic-

violence/. Accessed 7 Nov. 2019.


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Peer Review - Amogh Bandekar:

Hey Saad,

I am glad you are exploring a topic that is not really given a spotlight. Your EIP First Draft

looks great! Your transitions and the ease you provide to readers in understanding all of the

different forms of domestic abuse really makes your paper stand out. I would recommend

exploring some of the other types of domestic abuse, you go into detail for physical and verbal

abuse, but to finish out your paper for your final draft you could explore more of the financial

and emotional abuse caused. I also like the conclusion you wrote. It gives readers hope that there

are organizations out there that are working to change the prevalence of domestic abuse. You

could potentially link statistics of these domestic abuse awareness/prevention organization and

the work they have been able to do so far. Overall, this is a great paper, and can’t wait to see

your finished paper!

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