Minahil Butt

Global Perspective
Individual Report

Candidate Number:
Topic: Family
Question: Does witnessing domestic violence in marriage influence the present and future
life of children?
Word Count: 1995
Minahil Butt

Introduction
Domestic violence as per definition is the emotional, psychological, physical or sexual
form of abuse between intimate partners. I chose this topic for my individual report
because I often observe that women tend to endure abuse and compromise due to various
reasons which I will highlight in my report.
At such unfortunate times, I believe that the feelings of children are the most neglected.
They face a myriad number of problems- physical, social as well as psychological.
Moreover, in my household I have spotted my domestic helpers sharing her experience of
being beaten up by her spouse. However, when she got an advice to leave him, she tried
laughing it off by saying, “If this will become a reason to get separated, then I wonder
half of women in our country will become divorcees.” When I contemplated on this
problem, the consequences of such incidents on children occupied my mind.
Furthermore, in June 29 2020, I heard the case of Sadaf Zahra- a woman who faced
countless bruises due to her husband torturing her. She passed away- reports suggesting
that her husband was the murderer.
It is my firm belief that protection of members- men, women and children begins at
home. Charles R Swindoll rightly stated, “Each day of our lives we make deposits in the
memory banks of our children.”1 I felt the urge to write my report on this topic, in order
to call attention to the problem of domestic violence that makes people unsafe even at
home. I hope to learn more about it as well as explain the reader about the impact it has
on children. I wish to make an effort to solve this problem by creating a small yet an
impactful change.

1
Quote by Charles R. Swindoll: “Each day of our lives we make deposits in the m...” (goodreads.com)
Minahil Butt

Global Perspectives
According to United Nations Women, worldwide more than 30% women face some sort
of abuse or violence by their intimate partners. Around the world, Egypt, Zimbabwe and
Jordan comes into the top 20 list for spousal abuse. Due to this, children across the world
face numerous effects which are very detrimental to their stable mental health.
Unfortunately, the situation has been exacerbated by the outbreak of coronavirus. There
was a significant rise in the cases especially in countries like China and Spain. To
illustrate my point, Spain’s helpline associated with domestic violence received
approximately one fifth of more calls immediately after pandemic. Globally, there is a
high chance that the future married life of the children who witnessed violence gets
impacted; a study suggests that the woman is “6 times more likely”2 to get abused as a
wife. Across the globe, there is a high percentage of women who are financially
dependent on their husbands hence withholding torture ends up being the only possible
solution that they mostly see. This happens under the name of “compromise”. Such cases
are widely seen in Afghanistan and India.
In Colombia, a developing country, domestic violence is exceedingly high. Many
teenagers who study or started working faced extra problems in doing work because of
the emotional strain. This affects the world economy. BBC News states, “Children are the
hidden victims,” 3and that might be a very articulate summary of domestic violence.
Fortunately, countries like Kyrgyzstan has taken steps to overcome this issue. It passed a
law, “Safeguarding and protection against Domestic violence” in 2017 in order to provide
safety to their women.

National/Local Perspective
2
https://www.womenshealth.gov/relationships-and-safety/domestic-violence/effects-domestic-violence-children

3
Domestic abuse: 'Children are the hidden victims' - BBC News
Minahil Butt

Pakistan was ranked in the list of top 10 most dangerous countries for women, according
to ‘Reuters’ survey. Across the nation, parents usually are oblivious to the idea that their
children observe emotional abuse too. Making small comments that crushes the
confidence of a spouse to cursing one another in case of conflict are some examples.
Other than that, children witness a state of fear in their mother while interacting with their
husbands.
Nationally,“70% women and girls experience physical or sexual violence in their lifetime
by their intimate partners.”4 Hence, a ‘Domestic Violence Bill’ was formed in my country
in 2021. However, the bill was rejected and never came into execution. This is a
manifestation of a mindset of the powerful as well as majority of the local people who
refuse to grant safety to the vulnerable, specifically the women. In my opinion, it reminds
us of the long and arduous journey that we still need to pass through simply to overcome
a human right violation. Lack of strict laws against domestic violence results in escalating
violence cases such as in January 2021 Amir, from Gujranwala allegedly murdered his
wife in the name of honor killing.
From a local perspective, in Punjab more than 30% more calls were received by the
helpline associated with domestic violence during the lockdown. In my community, the
young children may take it as something that happens in every family. Furthermore, on
reaching adulthood they are way more likely to abuse drugs as well as indulge in serious
crimes. This was statistically shown in 2019 when Karachi was ranked at a very high
position on world crime index. In my perspective, witnessing violence closely like in
immediate families is one of the cause that has increased the crime rate. This is likely to
reduce Pakistan’s economy and widespread terror.

Causes and Consequences

4
'93% of Pakistani women experience sexual violence' | The Express Tribune
Minahil Butt

Domestic violence faced by women is exceedingly high compared to men. As per my

research, the root cause of domestic violence is male entitlement. Since childhood, men
are conditioned to believe that they have a dominance over women as well as an ego to
maintain. In case of arguments, they might subconsciously believe they are going against
their natural power by letting their spouse disagree with them. I recently watched a
Pakistani series in which a husband was complaining about his wife; his friend gave him
an advice to “be a man and exert force.” I realized that it was a representation of
entitlement in our society.
According to my understanding, another major cause is poverty. Lack of control on life
circumstances plays a crucial role in engendering violence. Due to poverty, a man lacks
control over things for example his finances, basic needs or dignity at work.
Consequently, to compensate for it he expresses his dominance by abusing the physically
weaker ones in order to make themselves feel internally powerful.
A major consequence of my first cause “entitlement” is on children. If children saw
violence towards their mother or father, they are learning to accept it. Boys who saw
male entitlement being held through their fathers are more likely to carry it further. They
are likely to believe that through aggression, they can achieve whatever they want. Such
beliefs are very harmful to the entire society.
A consequence of my second cause “poverty” is that children who support their mother
end up not talking to their father. At such circumstances, children are at a lost as
communication with both the parents is indispensable for their growth and contentment.
Furthermore, girls may think that violence is justified. This is proven too as research
suggests that “more than half of all teenage girls in Pakistan believe that domestic
violence is justified for at least one reason.”5

Possible Solutions

5
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/domestic-violence-justified-half-girls-believe-pakistan-united-
nations-population-fund-report-reveals-a6866851.html
Minahil Butt

Abuse is not just a marital issue that can be dealt with, rather it is an act that is a violation
of human rights. According to my perspective, the most pragmatic solution to the first
cause mentioned is to opt for separation. Many women tend to believe that they can
change the abuser but that is very unlikely. I discussed the possibility of this change with
a family member who is a marriage counsellor too. She says, “Different methods of abuse
become a part of them, unlearning it is extremely hard because entitlement, power,
dominance and childhood upbringing plays a huge part.” Hence the victims need to step
out of this kind of marriage for their own tranquility as well as for the stability of their
children. This can be made easier with the help of financial independence so empowering
oneself by learning new skills is imperative.
The best solution to the second cause previously mentioned is to communicate with a
child. Make them aware of essential concepts like abuse can never be justified. The
parent should make their children seek for professional help as therapists are experts of
an effective communication. “Cognitive behavioral therapy”, is advised by experts as it
helps the child change their vision of looking at a problem hence helping them to deal
with trauma. International organizations like the “WHO” encouraged the awareness of
mental health issues such as by providing therapy facilities.

Evaluation of Sources
Minahil Butt

Both primary and secondary sources were used. Mostly my secondary sources were
reliable such as United Nations website which is a reputable international organization. It
provided me statistics of different countries. Other than that, newspaper articles were
viewed from Tribune, Dawn and Gulf news which are some renowned newspapers. They
made me aware of different experiences of violence that were worth addressing. BBC
news was used as it is a well-grounded source due to their writer’s expert testimony.
These sources are easily verifiable. Another source was World Atlas which is used
widely because of its factually accurate data. It gave me information on the worst
countries for women around the globe. Similarly, womenshealth.gov was my source too
as the website gives unbiased information, taking guidance from the federal government
of US. Also, primary sources were taken as I discussed the chances of improvement of an
abuser with a marriage counselor. Moreover, I conducted a questionnaire with my
domestic helpers as they justified violence in order to understand the origin of this
mindset.
However, some articles were not very valid as an article from Tribune, “Violence begins
at home” was published in 2015. An essay from StudyModeResearch which was
published in 2012 did not mention the expertise of the writer. Blogs were used which
might not be very reliable as they can state outdated knowledge claims. Overall, I tried
my best to use well-founded sources to collect relevant data.

Personal Reflection
Minahil Butt

Initially, I was very keen to write about this issue as I often pondered upon the
ramifications of domestic violence and the reasons behind it. Emotional, physical and
verbal abuse is portrayed in a very normalized manner on Pakistani Television.
While researching on this, I found out that domestic violence was not just a problem in
third world counties, rather it is present in fully developed countries too. To my surprise,
I learned that husbands face abuse too. There are different forms of it such as turning
their children against them or perpetually doubting their loyalty. This wasn’t fully known
to me before. During the course of my research, many of my questions got answered such
as the reason of domestic violence mostly occurring in poor households. Besides this,
previously I would keep on highlighting the consequences but through my research, I
learned about the causes of this matter which helped me think of better solutions. I
realized that it is a matter of urgency as my conviction to overcome this issue became
stronger. I hope that parents could understand that they are not helping a child by staying
in an abusive marriage, rather they are providing an environment which is filled with
trepidation.
As a global citizen, I hope to assist in awareness campaigns regarding this. I will
highlight its repercussions on children wherever I can so more people can get educated.
My report has made my views stronger and I would always raise my voice against this
problem as Nelson Mandela said, “It is in your hands to create a better world for all who
live in it.” 6

6
Nelson Mandela Quote: “It is in your hands to create a better world for all who live in it.”
(quotefancy.com)
Minahil Butt

References
https://www.un.org/en/coronavirus/what-is-domestic-abuse
(last accessed 11/3/2020)
https://tribune.com.pk/story/1867614/2018-witnesses-no-respite-violence-women
(last accessed 12/3/2020)
https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/20-worst-countries-for-spousal-abuse.html
(last accessed 12/3/2020)
https://tribune.com.pk/story/859483/violence-begins-at-home
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https://www.dawn.com/news/1567884/journalist-allegedly-involved-in-wifes-murder-sent-to-jail
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(https://www.bbc.com/news/education-45941824)

(last accessed 1/5/2020)

Colombia (unwomen.org)
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(last accessed 5/5/2020)

How Domestic Violence Affects Children Essay - 2065 Words (studymode.com)

(last accessed 6/5/2020)

Eight countries that are making historic changes to ensure no woman or girl is left behind | by UN
Women | We The Peoples | Medium

(last accessed 27/5/2020)

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(last accessed 27/5/2020)

The Effects Of Spousal Emotional Abuse (marriage.com)

(last accessed 18/7/2020)

Minahil Butt

700 domestic violence cases registered during lockdown in Punjab - The Week

last accessed 18/7/2020)

Karachi drops from 6th to 70th on World Crime Index | Pakistan – Gulf News

(last accessed 29/9/2020)

'93% of Pakistani women experience sexual violence' | The Express Tribune

(last accessed 29/9/2020

5 Facts About Children of Domestic Violence (domesticshelters.org)

(last accessed 29/9/2020)

Domestic Violence Statistics (domesticshelters.org)

(last accessed 5/12/2020)

How Poverty Perpetuates Domestic Violence - Shepherd Higher Education Consortium on Poverty
(shepherdconsortium.org)

(last accessed 5/12/2020)

Domestic Violence and Male Entitlement - Free Paper Sample (mypaperwriter.com)

(last accessed 6/12/2020)

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/domestic-violence-justified-half-girls-believe-
pakistan-united-nations-population-fund-report-reveals-a6866851.html

(last accessed 6/12/2020)

Cognitive behavioral therapy - Wikipedia

(last accessed 2/2/2021)

Effects of domestic violence on children | womenshealth.gov

(last accessed 3/2/2021)

Domestic Violence Bill 2021 of Pakistan - THPSC.COM

(last accessed 3/2/2021)

https://www.who.int/mental_health/media/en/400.pdf#:~:text=The%20United%20Nations%20General
%20Assembly%20adopts%20the%20Principles,andbasic%20human%20rights%20for%20persons
%20with%20mental%20illness.

(last accessed 31/10/2021)

https://www.thenews.com.pk/latest/777607-honor-killing-gujranwala-man-murders-wife-four-kids
Minahil Butt

(last accessed 31/10/21)

New progressive law on domestic violence adopted in Kyrgyzstan | UN Women – Headquarters

(last accessed 04/04/2022)

Nelson Mandela Quote: “It is in your hands to create a better world for all who live in it.”
(quotefancy.com)

(last accessed 8/4/22)

Quote by Charles R. Swindoll: “Each day of our lives we make deposits in the m...” (goodreads.com)

(last accessed 15/4/22)

Minahil Butt
Minahil Butt