They lose their sense of identity which has been eroded to the point where they accept the contaminated version of reality dictated by their abusers. Think of the women who pay with their lives, either by their own hands or the hands of others. Family violence Is a human development Issue. It also traumatizes the children living in these homes, where they witness or are subjected routinely to beatings, sexual and verbal abuse, and neglect. To pursue effective development strategies agencies and organizations that work with women and children must increase their sensitivity to the issue of violence and make it central to their work.
Family violence is a human rights issue.
Deeply rooted in cultural and religious gender bias, it is supported, even institutionalized, by many patriarchal societies. In many countries, family violence is ignored or condoned in the name of religion, of culture, and of 'familism' in which the sanctity of the family unit takes rigid precedence over the safety or sanity of its individual members. At policy-making levels, family violence is often considered a private matter and in many countries, it is not a punishable offense. In some countries, one family member is prohibited by law from denouncing another, even for the most serious and violent acts. Effective use of a human rights framework to create violence-free families will require enforcement of international conventions such as the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women and the Convention on the Rights of the Child.