Week of 26 November 2018   Sexula violence is a big problem in American society. It is any act of a sexual nature that does harm or injures a victim. It is hard to measure, but rape is probably more common that thought between intimate couples and in general. It is generally focused on the woman as victim, although this need not be the entire situation. The average age of a rapist is 31, has several prior convictions and 30% of women are raped by strangers. There are several theories concerning rape, but the most important is that it is not a sexual act. Rape is about power and control of women by men. It is control, it is conquest and possibly about a resolution to sexual inadequacy or "getting even" so as to speak. Often men have a generic hostility to women and rape is a venting of rage. In sadistic rape, the ritual of terror is paramount. Although many rapes occur by people that are not in the family proper of the victim, it is a family violence topic because it effects the victim's entire social scenario. The victim is often traumatized and humiliated which spills over to her intimate and familial relations. The important idea in counseling a rape victim is to . Ina way, rape is like terrorism - one simply does not know where it will strike nor the specific reason even though one knows it is about power, control and the warped concept of the rapist's personal and social pathology.

  Week of 19 November 2018    3rd Exam Due 

  Week of 5 November 2018    Most abuse with children occurs between the ages of 4 and eleven. They get older and they may turn physically against the violator or simply isolate themselves. Generally the abuser is a relative or parent and abuse is indicated by broken bones, loss of appetite, sinking school grades and a general laconic interest in others.  In sexual abuse the child is told that "This is the way Mommy or Daddy loves you." This now is the way of the predator. More often than not the child becomes quiet and feels a kind of shame when they find out that the wrong thing is being done to them because, in a way, they feel they are to blame which is not the case and why child sexual abuse is so insidious.

  Week of 29 October 2018    The problem with defining child abuse and why it really should be left up to professionals is its often vague nature. Kids do fall and get cut, but this doesn't mean they are in the grasp of abuse. Remember, child abuse manifestations is the direct of attempting to harm a child. Many cuts, burns and bruises may look like abuse, but this may also be a product of the parent's extreme hugging and other physical things along with understandable rough housing leading to sum injuries.

  Week of 22 October 2018    As seen in the article, child abuse can be fatal and the mother was undoubtedly a psycho, BUT, what is to remember, the srticle suggested all of the main topics we will study. Keep in mind that child abuse does not follow any patterns and usually, although not always the case, the abuser is close to the child and, to some extent, deranged!

  Week of 15 October 2018    2d Exam Due  Discussions in class suggested the often difficulty determining if child abuse has occured because of the active nature of children sometimes giving them injuries that may be considered as intentional from a parent or others. 

  Week of 8 October 2018    2D Exam:  On Tuesday 9 October 2018 a movie will be shown for 50 minutes. The second paper will be based on this movie. You are to evaluate the abuse displayed in the program by what you learned in class and cite from the text. You will demonstrate knowledge of theory and practical applications of Family Violence.

  Week of 1 October 2018   The discussions this week point out the fact that family violence is much more than the statistics and categorizations the text itemizes. Not to say that the text is bad, but to suggest that the reasons for family violence or any violence for that matter has deep seeded causes that are often not apparent. We also looked at some speculation of conspiracy in some of the discussed examples and noted that, even though it was not found, there was some question of collaboration between two of three parties in a situation. This is why finding solutions to family violence can be difficult - the real reason may be hidden or so deep as not to be easily discerned.  

  Week of 24 September 2018    The abuse of the elderly is treated as abuse for any age group - there is no distinction. The problem becomes one of misunderstanding in other instances. One has to not jump to a conclusion that, because an older person exhibits  signs of abuse seen in younger people, that this is indeed the cause of abuse. Dementia, Alzheimer's and others show classic symptoms of abuse, but may not be the product of it. That is why it is suggested that symptoms of abuse in older people should be diagnose by professionsl, not the aly person.

  Week of 17 September 2018    2d Exam Due  

  Week of 10 September 2018  1st Exam due 20 September 2018. 

 Week of 3 September 2018    Violence between intimate partners has its built-in aggression. People are all different and their ideas are prone to clashing now and then, but sometimes these difficulties become magnified and the aggression moves from a tolerable situation into actual destructive violence. It is always interesting to note that what starts intimate violence is generally a series of small tolerable things that blooms into an aggregate of large misunderstanding and often serious violence.

  Week of 27 AUGUST 2018    Although there is a subtlety here, the concept of family violence may be something that is innate in the family system due to defined roles (in a traditional family structure) of men and women. As discussed in class, it may be that family violence lurks in all traditional families or at least has the potential for conflict between men and women. Of course this is speculative, but the class did seem to acknowledge contemporary social roles between the sexes has, if not the possibility, the potential for tension and that, given certain circumstances, may bring itself to violence. Again this is speculation, but worthwhile as a discussion topic to enhance situational dynamics in families.

 Week of 23 August 2018    Read Chapter One  for next class. This class discussion focused on the difficulty the author finds in defining "family" and "violence". The problem is that there are several approaches to understanding the ideas. That will not be a problem in the ensuing classes because our discussions will continually revolve around and integrate them into our knowledge of the subject.