Running Head: Popular Media Reflection Paper

Family violence is a common type of mistreatment or abuse experienced by a child or an adult from a close member of the family or from someone with whom they have an intimate relationship.

According to the article, family violence refers to women abused by their husbands leading to the death of the victim (Roberson & Wallace, 2016). The victim, in this case, is Lida Maria who is believed to have been physically abused before she was shot by her husband Manuel. According to the series of event, I feel that Lida and Manuel had family issues that they are trying to solve and in the process, a conflict erupted. The two started arguing and ended up engaging in a physical abuse which led to the death of Maria. Anger control and solving of family issues in a sober mood is one of the significant lessons that can be delivered from the article. Although family violence involves children, women, and men, in many cases women are the victims followed by children

Family violence is an abuse that is common and is experienced globally. The abuse occurs in different forms such as physical, psychological, financial, emotional and sexual among others. The form of violence presented in the article is physical abuse. Physical abuse involves a cause of pain or injury to the victim by use of force (Heise, 2018). Although some forms of family violence may not be common, physical abuse is represented as a recognizable and most common form of abuse. It is pointed out as a common form of abuse since it involves major and minor injuries such as kicks, slap, shooting, choking and stabbing among others. After going through the article, I have realized that physical abuse may take place anywhere and at any time of the day. According to the article, Lida Maria suffered physical injuries before she was shot dead by her husband, Manuel. I feel that creating awareness on ways of dealing with anger, may reduce the occurrence of physical abuse.

Family violence is a criminal activity and should be charged in the court of law. Different states have different laws that govern the court procedurals in case a physical abuse case is reported. The incidence narrated in the article occurred in the capital city of El Salvador in a wealthy estate in San Salvador. The police arrived at the scene of the crime and found Manuel beside his wife who was holding a gun in her hand as a sign of suicide. However, the police were not satisfied, and they suspected Manuel was involved in the killing. Manuel was arrested, an investigation into the case was launched immediately to determine the cause of death (Stephen, 2013). The article states that the offender should be charged with murder and possession of an illegal gun. However, in this case, the investigators did not present enough evidence to the court thus leading to release of the suspect. According to how the investigators were performed, I noted that some government officials do not perform their duties conscientiously.

The victim of any form of abuse requires special handling depending on the type of abuse they have faced. According to this article, although the victim succumbed to death, she deserved quick medical attention. If only the police officers arrived on time after the neighbors reported to have heard a woman being assaulted, then they would have saved a life. However, at the scene of the crime, some children are believed to have witnessed the whole scenario of abuse leading to the death of their mother. In this case, I view children as passive victims of abuse, and they should be counseled to get their minds off the occurrences.

Treatment and prevention programAccording to Heise (2018), there has been a rise in the number of crimes involving women abuse worldwide. Women are much affected by family violence due to what the society perceives towards them. The society holds that a woman must be submissive to their husbands and fulfill all the responsibilities assigned to them. The article recommends that all offenders of domestic crimes must be punished according to the rule of law. Additionally, the American countries recommend that people must be educated on the rights of women in the society and pass laws that protect women from violence (Stephen, 2013). When going through the article, I realized that all these laws exist in some states, they are rarely implemented. Value of the article from criminal justice perspectiveAccording to the everyday aggression article, the offender who in this case is Manuel was not charged with murder since the investigations were not well done. The ruling attracted the attention of El Salvador’s first lady, who aired her concerns to the justice system.

After around one month, the judge ordered for the arrest of Mr. Manuel and charged him with illegal possession of a gun. Therefore, it is clear that the article assists in changing the criminal justice system of El Salvador (Stephen, 2013).

Additionally, the article assists in creating awareness of physical abuse of women violence. From the article, I have acquired knowledge on how to gather fast hand information at the scene of the crime. Value of the article to victims of family violenceAccording to the everyday aggression article, the victim is not portrayed as a person of interest in this case. However, the offender plays a significant role in exposing the poorly managed criminal justice system. The writer, discusses the justice system broadly, thus making it a valuable item in family violence (Stephen, 2013). Many cases related to the violation of women rights have been reported, but the investigation is only done in a few of them. Additionally, many men involved in rape cases are never arrested thus leading to increased cases of assault. The protection of victims of family violence can only be delivered through an efficient justice system.

Conclusion

Family violence is the primary cause of an increased number of deaths among women. The law must protect the victims of violence and be guided on how to seek justice. I have realized that the poor criminal justice system is a major to the increased number of domestic criminal cases. Any individual who engages in family violence must be presented to the court and charged as per the rule of law.