SOCIAL STUDIES SBA

DOMESTIC VIOLENCE & ABUSE

Name of Candidate: Laquana Johnson

Subject: Social Studies

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Title Page

Acknowledgment 1
Introduction 2

Statement of Problem 3

Reason for Selecting Topic 4

Method of Investigation 5

Instrument Used to Collect Data 6-8

Procedure Used to Collect Data 9

Analysis and Interpretation of Data 10-15

Findings 16

Recommendation and Implementation 17

Strategy 18

Conclusion 19

Mark Scheme

Acknowledgment
The researcher wishes to thank the Lord for granting her health and strength to complete
this SBA; family members and friends for providing help and moral support during the
process of completing this SBA as well as participants who took the time to complete the
survey. The researcher also wishes to extend heartfelt gratitude to the wonderful Social
Studies teacher for providing skills and expertise; teaching and explaining the methods
used in completing this project.

Introduction
Belfield is a small coastal community located on the upper East-Coast of Demerara. It
has a few small shops but no large businesses and is approximately 19 miles from the
nation’s capital, Georgetown. I have been a resident of Belfield for the past sixteen years
and within this time there have been a few domestic violence cases in my community as
well as neighbouring communities. According to the womensaidni.org, domestic violence
is intentional and persistent abusive behaviour which is based on an unequal position of
power and control.
I have decided to investigate the knowledge of and/or experience members of my
community have with domestic violence.

STATEMENT OF PROBLEM
Topic: Domestic Violence and Abuse
1. What are the causes and effects of domestic violence/ abuse in Belfield and Victoria?
2. How does this impact the lives of residents?
3. What can be done to correct this problem?

REASON FOR SELECTING TOPIC

I chose this topic because this problem is on a rise and has caused a lot of harm in not
only my community but the country. Domestic violence damages the prospects for
economic and social development of every country, not just the lives of the victims and
their direct support. Over the years there has been an increase in domestic violence cases,
some of which unfortunately turn fatal. A survey conducted in late 2019 concluded that
55% of women and girls in Guyana, ages 14-34, have experienced violence at the hands
of their partner. Domestic violence is prevalent between the ages of 14-64. Domestic
abuse causes a variety of problems, i.e. Children who have witnessed domestic abuse
usually grow up to be abusers or abused. I intend on finding out the causes, effects, and
possible solutions to this problem. Contact information for protection agencies should be
supplied on a large scale along with more organizations to help and protect victims of
domestic violence.

METHOD OF INVESTIGATION
 To investigate the problem, I have selected to supply questionnaires, to gather
information for the survey.
The questionnaire as a tool for collecting data has several advantages:
 It can be done at the accessibility of the persons required to have it completed
 It is classified as respondents aren’t required to state their names
 It requires little time to be completed.
The questionnaire will include both open-ended and closed-ended questions.
Contact information for protection agencies will be attached in case respondents or
someone they know needs help.
 INSTRUMENT USED TO COLLECT DATA

Questionnaire
Dear Participant,
I am a CSEC candidate. As partial fulfillment of this examination, I am
required to conduct a research study of residents in my community. In keeping with
same, my research is to acquire the views of these residents on unemployment.

As such, I am requesting a few minutes of your time to answer this questionnaire. Your
honest response will be highly appreciated.

Please note your response will be treated with the highest form of confidentiality.
Yours Respectfully,
…………………………
Laquana Johnson
Hotline numbers are attached if needed.
….…………………………………………………………………………………….

There is no need to state your name on the questionnaire.

Put a tick ( ) in the box provided to indicate the answer chosen from the questions
below.
1. Gender: Male Female
2. Age: 14-28 29-43 44-58 58 & over
3. Ethnicity: Indo. Afro. Amer. Euro. Port.
Chin.
4. Do you know what domestic violence is? Yes No
5. Have you or someone you know ever been in an abusive relationship? Yes No
6. Is domestic violence/ abuse a particular problem in your community? Yes No
7. Are you aware of any recent cases of domestic violence in your community?
Yes No
8. Do you know how a domestic abuse case is handled?
Yes No

9. What do you consider as domestic violence/ abuse?

Physical Verbal Sexual Emotional/Psychological Financial
10. What causes domestic violence?
Substance Abuse Raised In an Abusive Environment/Early Exposure to Abusive
Behaviour Frustration Mental Illness
11. What are some effects of domestic violence?
……………………………………………………..
……………………………………………………..
12. Who is affected the most as a result of domestic violence? Victim
Child/Children
13. Why do victims of domestic violence remain in/ return to the relationship?
……………………………………………………..
……………………………………………………..
14. Reason for your answer?
……………………………………………………..
……………………………………………………..
15. Are you aware of the organizations/agencies that help victims of domestic violence?
Yes No
16. State the name of an organization/agency?
……………………………………………………..
……………………………………………………..
17. What are some methods that can be used to reduce domestic violence/ abuse?
…………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………
Help & Shelter 24 Hour Hotline: 227-3454
Domestic Violence & Abuse 24-hour Hotline: 640-1011

PROCEDURE USED TO COLLECT DATA

The community of Belfield has approximately 60 households. I decided to provide 50%
with questionnaires (50% of 60= 30). Questionnaires were distributed at random and
respondents were given 1 week to complete and return questionnaires. All questionnaires
were collected at the end of the 1 week.

ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION OF DATA

A total of 30 questionnaires were distributed to the citizens, in which all were returned.
Of these respondents 70% were female and 30% were male.

Pie Chart Showing # of Persons That Have Been or Know Someone That
Has Been In An Abusive Relationship/ Haven't or Don't Know Someone
That Has

100%

Have/ Knows Someone That Has Haven't or Don't Know Someone That Has

Figure 1.
It can be observed that 100% of the respondents have been or know someone that has
been in an abusive relationship.
 Bar Graph Showing What Residents Consider To Be Domestic Abuse

35%

33%

30%

27%
25%

20%

17%
15%

13%

10%
10%

5%

0%

Physical Verbal Sexual

Emotional/Psychological Economical

Figure 2.
In this representation, it can be seen that 33% considered domestic violence to be
physical abuse. 27% considered it to be verbal abuse. 13% responded that they
considered sexual abuse as domestic violence. 17% responded emotional/psychological
abuse& 10% economical abuse.
 Pie Chart Showing Causes of Domestic Violence
According to Respondents

Substance Abuse
20% Raised In An Abusive Environment
37% Frustration
Mental Illnes

17%

27%

Figure 3.
In this figure, 36% of respondents think domestic abuse is caused by substance abuse i.e.
alcoholism. 27% of respondents think abuse is caused as a result of being raised in an
abusive home/ early exposure to abusive behavior. 17% think domestic abuse is a result
of a mental illness, while 20% of respondents think domestic abuse is caused by
frustration.
 Pie Chart Showing Who is Effected The Most as a Result of
Domestic Violence

Victim
47%
Child/ Children
53%

Figure 4
In the pie chart, 47% of respondents believe that victims of domestic violence are
affected the most, while 53% of respondents believed that the child/ children are affected
the most.
 Chart Showing Age of Respondents

0.35

0.33
0.3

0.25

0.23
0.2
0.2

0.17
0.15

0.1

0.05

0
Age Range in
Percentage

14-28 29-43 44-58 59& over

Figure 5
It can be seen that 7% are between the ages of 14-28, 40% between 26-40, 33% between
41-55, and 20% between ages 55 & over.

Table Showing Reasons Victims Stay in/ Return to Abusive Relationships

Reasons Amount
Fear 10
Financial Security/Provision 4
Hopelessness 6
Justifies Partner’s Behaviour 3
To Protect Their Children 7
Figure 6
 INTERPRETATION OF DATA
Upon completing my survey of Belfield, out of 30 persons, 21 are females while the other
9 are males. The information gathered shows that all respondents have been or know
someone that has been in an abusive relationship. Physical abuse has the most attention
being at 33% (10) among the respondents, verbal abuse is next with 27% (8), followed by
emotional/psychological abuse at 17% (5), then sexual abuse at 13% (4) and finally
economical abuse with 10% (3).
The age group of participants in the questionnaire, out of the 30 respondents, the highest
amount of respondents were within the ages of 29-43 which accounted for 33% of
respondents (10 persons). The second highest came from the age group 44-58, 23% of
respondents (7 persons). The third highest was 55+ with 20% of respondents (6 persons)
and lastly was 14-28, accounting 17% of respondents (5 persons).
Figure 4 shows the results of question 12, the relationship between the child and the
victim being affected by domestic violence. Out of 100%, 53% (16 persons) selected that
the child has the majority of the backlash of experiencing domestic abuse while the other
47% (14 persons) chose that the victim had the worst effects.
Out of the 30 participants, substance abuse was the leading cause of domestic abuse with
36% of the respondents (11 persons) selecting it, followed by ‘being raised in an abusive
environment’, 27% of respondents (8 persons). Next was ‘mental illness’, 20% (6
persons); and finally ‘frustration’ with 17% (5 persons).see Figure 3.
It was observed that the majority, 33% of respondents stated that victims remained or
returned to abusive relationships because of fear, followed by 23% choosing 'to protect
their children'. The third highest response was 'hopelessness' with 20% of the
respondents, next was 'financial security/provision' with 14% of the respondents. The
lowest recorder answer was 'justifies partner's behaviour with 11% of respondents.
 FINDINGS
Throughout my research on domestic violence/abuse in Belfield I have noticed the
following:
i. 21 or (70%) of the respondents are females while the other 9 or (30%) are
males.
ii. All (30) respondents have been in or know someone that has been in an
abusive relationship.
iii. Physical abuse id the most known/common form of domestic abuse.
iv. Victims of abuse usually remain in these relationships because they fear their
partner will kill them.
 RECCOMENDATION & IMPLEMENTATION
Domestic violence has been on a continuous rise for many years and these cases are
ending fatally. Domestic abuse is one of the leading causes of death and psychological
issues in women. Though domestic violence does sometimes have men as victims in
heterosexual relationships, it's more frequent in same-sex relationships. The residents of
Belfield are reasonably educated about domestic violence however, I think information
should be more available.
I strongly recommend that services (counseling/support groups) available for victims of
domestic violence if they need the courage to leave/ report their abusive relationship. The
public should be more educated on domestic violence since some signs aren't as
noticeable as others. Hotlines should be easily accessible if the victim is too scared to
report someone else can. I had great difficulty finding contact information on organizations/ agencies that help victims of domestic
violence. This can be achieved by broadcasting the information via the media which includes:

A) The television
B) Radio
C) Newspaper
Also, the government can go about this by dispatching social workers to different
communities, advising them about domestic violence/abuse.
In the process of making these recommendations the strategies that I would implement, to
undertake these problems are as follows:
 The intervention of police officers and organizations to develop an institution for
victims of domestic violence and their children and provide them with additional
assistance to get back on their feet.
 Invite guest speakers to advise the community about the causes and effects of
domestic violence/abuse.

STRATEGY
To solve the problem the researcher could:
i. Print posters displaying contact information for agencies that assist victims of
domestic violence & abuse.
ii. Distribute flyers to residents helping to educate them on the signs, causes, and
effects of an abusive relationship.

CONCLUSION
From our findings, it is evident that domestic violence is most prevalent among younger
adults. It is also noticed that domestic violence is higher among females than males. As
such, we conclude that it is difficult to notice an abusive relationship without obvious
tell-tale signs (bruises) and victims are usually silent.