Domestic Violence

Most often, when people think of domestic abuse, they have an idea of one partner physically harming the other. This falls under the category of domestic violence, however domestic violence is not the entirety of domestic abuse. Undoubtedly, domestic violence is absolutely a matter to be addressed immediately, but it is only one among many. The following characteristics are signs of domestic abuse that are not always recognized as domestic abuse because they are not domestic violence. In fact, all of them are signs of domestic abuse, and need to be addressed expediently.

1. Threats

Many people believe that threatening someone is unlike domestic violence because it does not actually have an action behind it. Threateners often think that, in fact, threats are not a sign of trouble, and that only actual domestic violence is. In fact, this is wholly untrue. Threats are absolutely a form of domestic abuse, and should be addressed immediately. Moreover, these threats can come in all sorts of forms. These threats may insinuate domestic violence, or they could be threats for the person to harm himself or herself if the partner does not act as he or she wishes.

2. Put downs

Making one’s partner feel bad by telling him or her that he or she is not good enough, or that he or she is stupid, or a bad parent, or unloved, or any other variety of speech intended to make the person feel bad about himself or herself is domestic abuse.

3. Control or manipulate your actions

Any person that looks to control his or her partner is committing domestic abuse. This can, of course, be done physically in a form of domestic violence, but it can also be done by one partner explicitly forbidding the other to do certain things or see certain people. It can also be done in a more sneaky way that involves the abuser telling the victim that something will happen if the victim goes through with the action; this can range from something being destroyed or someone being harmed to the abuser saying he or she will hurt or kill himself or herself.

4. Hurt you

Inflicting pain is absolutely domestic violence, and a most extreme form of domestic abuse. If one person harms another in any way, no matter if he or she later claims it was an accident, if it just happens once, or if it didn’t hurt very much, it is still domestic violence and should be dealt with accordingly.

Animal Abuse

Often, animal abuse takes place inside a house or at a private residence where the animal cruelty is not made public. In these cases, it is incredibly difficult to recognize this animal abuse, and so the abuser often gets away with animal cruelty. Some ways of recognizing this animal abuse, even when you don’t see it happening, are as follows. Note that animals that are victims of animal abuse often show extreme personality traits, such as being incredibly submissive or overly aggressive, however animals that are not victims of animal cruelty often show these signs as well, and so these are generally not considered reliable signs alone. In conjunction with these other signs, however, they can be strong indicators of animal cruelty transpiring and should be investigated appropriately by calling a local humane society.

1. Wounds, injuries, or infections

Animals who are victims of animal abuse often will have infections or wounds that are not being treated. Moreover, they often have many separate wounds that seem to have been gotten at different times. Besides outright injuries and wounds, animal cruelty may often manifest in infections or skin rashes or disorders that cause loss of hair on the animal.

2. An owner yelling or hitting an animal

If the owner is taking the animal outside and the animal is being aggressively jerked around on a leash, or the owner is yelling at or actually hitting the animal, this could absolutely be a sign of animal cruelty. In fact, hitting an animal is unquestionably animal abuse (except perhaps in clear cut cases of self-defense). Also, if the owner seems to be overly angry that the dog does not speak English (i.e. the owner gives the dog a command that was not part of its training and expects it to understand), this could be a signifier that the animal is a victim of animal abuse. Similarly, if the owner seems disproportionately angry because of some small infraction or accident committed by the animal, this could most definitely be a sign of animal cruelty.

3. Animal is kept in poor conditions

If an animal is tied up alone outdoors for long periods of time, especially without enough food or water, or in an area that is unsafe, the animal is suffering from animal abuse. Often this animal cruelty can be seen if an animal is tied up in an area where there is no grass, mostly from the animal’s being tied up there constantly, or in a place where there is garbage or broken glass.

4. The animal seems confused or extremely drowsy

Abused animals often appear to be extremely confused all of the time. An animal who is a victim of animal cruelty may walk in strange patterns or travel in circles for long periods of time. Similarly, an animal that is a victim of animal abuse may appear to be extremely drowsy as a result of physical damage or deprivation.

Child Abuse

Child abuse is considered one of the absolutely most heinous crimes in our society. Someone who could hurt a child seems unbelievably callous to most people, and yet child abuse happens at an alarming rate in society. Last year in our society almost a million children were found to be victims of child abuse and child neglect, according to the Child Welfare Information Gateway. One of the main problems with recognizing child abuse is that many people do not realize that child neglect is a form of child abuse. Furthermore, children who are victims of child abuse or child neglect are often instructed or pressured into not showing overt signs, or telling anyone, so it can be hard to detect. The following signs are considered telltale that some form of child abuse or child neglect is happening, and should signify that further investigations should be made.

1. Strange clothing

Often when child abuse occurs, children are instructed to wear clothing to cover their marks. If a child is seen to be wearing long shirts or coats in summer weather, or pants in the same sort of weather, it can be a sign that the child is a victim of child abuse. Similarly, if a child is wearing inadequate clothing in winter time, it could also be a sign of child neglect, where the child may not receive clothing or attention needed to dress himself or herself properly.

2. Extreme personality traits

Often children who are victims of child abuse or child neglect have unusual character traits. These children may sometimes lash out or be overly active in an attempt to get attention when not near the abuser, or they may be shy and overly submissive as a result of the child abuse or child neglect. Sometimes, the child may display reluctance to go home, or an aversion to touch in any way.

3. Physical signs

All children end up with some bumps and bruises as a result of being young and playful. Victims of child abuse, however, often end up with more signs of trauma, or trauma in areas that children do not normally receive it, such as in the groin area in cases of sexual abuse. Also, if a child reports a different story than a parent, it could be a sign that the parent is attempting to cover up the signs of child abuse. Victims of child neglect may also, sometimes, have more signs of abuse as a result of not being cared for or looked after. Children with wounds that do not seem to have been treated could be victims of child neglect.

Discrimination and Prejudice

Despite the distances our country has come toward getting rid of discrimination and prejudice, both still exist to some extent in our country, in a variety of different forms and against a number of different groups and people. Because of the perceived modernity of our country, people who encounter discrimination or prejudice can often be disconcerted and unsure of how to react to both of these. If you come across discrimination or prejudice, there are a number of appropriate reactions, which are somewhat detailed as follows.

1. Vocalize your displeasure or offense

If you encounter discrimination or prejudice in a personal setting, absolutely voice that you are offended or not amused. Sometimes people will make offensive comments in the name of comedy, and will continue to make them until the audience no longer is entertained. If you voice your displeasure immediately, you may be able to head off the disparaging comments. Moreover, you may be given the opportunity to defend your ideals, possibly resulting in a change of heart to the person expressing the discrimination and prejudice.

2. Take action

Of course the most famous forms of action against discrimination and prejudice are the women’s rights movements in the early part of the twentieth century and the civil rights movement that took place in the middle of the same century. These two movements were best known for extreme acts such as marches, protests, boycotts, and simple acts of defiance, as well as an involvement in the political process. Taking action against discrimination or prejudice can be as extreme and bold as these movements were, or it can be writing a letter to a politician, refusing to buy from a vendor or manufacturer, or organizing or an awareness event. All of these can certainly contribute to a climate of fighting against both discrimination and prejudice, and can certainly make a difference as can be seen in the two aforementioned movements that snowballed from small events until the entire American political and social world changed. If you encounter this discrimination or prejudice in a workplace environment or in a public arena, most definitely take action by reporting it to superiors or to a human resources group.

3. Sometimes, nothing

In some cases, it may be appropriate to do nothing. While this may be difficult, if the person exhibiting the discrimination and prejudice seems positioned to harm you, or unwilling to listen to reason, sometimes the best reaction is just to walk away. Though this may not directly help fix the discrimination or prejudice, it will both get you out of the situation and send a message that you did not agree in a non-confrontational way. Moreover, in some cases a person may be looking for a fight. If that appears to be the case, the best reaction would be to leave, which would also give the person less reason to feel antagonized by someone arguing against the discrimination or prejudice.

Poverty

The following countries are all tied for having the most people living below the poverty line. All of them have an estimated 80% of the population living in poverty, and all have this extreme poverty for a number of reasons. Wanting to solve and end world poverty, or at least get more people above the poverty line, is a noble goal, and a common one, but the variety of reasons for the rampant poverty emphasizes just how difficult this problem really is. Poverty clearly cannot just be solved by spreading resources; instead, most of these countries require a buildup of infrastructure and a complete renovation of the economy.

1. Liberia

Liberia has had a history of poverty, all the way back from its founding. In the early 1990s, though official export was down, illicit diamond trade was up and the country began to more or less produce. These were blood diamonds, however, and the UN eventually put a worldwide moratorium on Liberian diamond exports, effectively shutting down the trade, and plunging most of the country back below the poverty line. This ban was lifted in 2007, but the country has only started to begin its recovery. It has the second highest unemployment rate of any country in the world (85%), meaning that most of its people live well below the poverty line. The value of its imports are about five times that of its exports, meaning that most of the country will likely stay below the poverty line.

2. Haiti

Haiti is the least developed country in the Americas, which has both contributed and been a product of its poverty. Approximately two-thirds of the population works in small scale farming, though this farming produces less than a third of the country’s GDP, suggesting that most, if not all of these people live below the poverty line. More than a third of the country’s budget is contributed by foreign aid, mostly by the United States. In addition, Haiti recently had a coup that was partly inspired by the desperate poverty levels (also, the US retracted funding under the leader over disagreements), however the coup, while restoring a new administration that brought back funding, did not otherwise help Haiti’s majority population climb above the poverty line. Moreover, the coup reduced tourism greatly, which also contributed to increase the poverty levels.

3. Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe has, as of late, been ruled by Robert Mugabe who has built a reputation for himself of terrible mismanagement of the economy. In the 1980s and 1990s, the country’s GDP grew fairly steadily each year. in 1998, however, the country became in involved in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s war, which drained all of its resources, plunging most of the country below the poverty line. Since then, reports have come out frequently, detailing the preposterous economy. In 1998, the inflation rate was 32% (in itself fairly large). By 2008, the inflation rate had risen to 231,000,000% annually. The government contributed to this poverty crisis by printing money which recently increased to include a $100,000,000,000 bill. In July of 2009, succumbing to the problems of its currency, Zimbabwe officially switched to the US dollar, along with allowing a number of other stable currencies to be officially traded. Immediately, inflation dropped to below zero, though much of the country has yet to recover from the repeated laws against start-up companies and remains below the poverty line.

4. Chad

More than 80% of Chad’s population relies on farming and livestock, not for income but as subsistence farming, keeping them well below the poverty line. In the early 1908s, a civil war ravaged the country, crippling its transportation infrastructure. There are relatively few paved roads in Chad, and water is exceedingly scarce. In its cities, only 2% of the population have access to basic sanitation, and less than half have access to potable water, giving an indication both of the extreme poverty and disorganization of the country.