Violence is an age old tradition: Right since the days of the mythological Abel and Cain, violence has been an inseparable part of mankind. Violence is a trait which one usually associates with animals. Man is also a social animal. So how can he be left out of the loop of violence?

Man has animal instincts: Animals exhibit violent behaviour for satisfying their basic urge for food. Man is a unique creature who has a tendency to behave violently for virtually no reason at all. It can be due to a development of an inferiority complex or maybe a troubled childhood where he himself may have been a victim of violence. This is a psychological problem which requires medical intervention.

What constitutes domestic violence? Violence can be of many types. One could be directed towards the society at large. The other type of violence could be directed against the spouse and children and is in fact much more dangerous. This type of violence is known as Domestic Violence.

There are many myths concerning Domestic Violence and by believing in those, we actually aggravate the problem instead of solving it. Listed herein below are some of the myths with the reality factor mentioned alongside.

Myth: Men act violently due to the effects of drugs and under the influence of alcohol.

Reality: This is only an excuse as it has been established that men who behave violently do so when they are sober and never under the influence of alcohol or drugs.

Myth: Domestic violence is a poor family’s fiefdom.

Reality: This popular myth has been debunked by establishing that poverty has nothing to do with domestic violence. Affluent persons such as doctors, lawyers and accountants have been accused of domestic violence by their spouses in many developed countries too.

Myth: Abusers grew up in an atmosphere of violence themselves.

Reality: This is not entirely true. It has been noticed that violence is an inherent quality of man. It is not absolutely necessary that a man who had a troubled childhood would go on to behave violently as he grows up. In fact there have been cases where such men have repelled violence as they have seen enough of it.

Myth: Mental illness is a reason for man to behave violently.

Reality: There is no connection between mental illness and domestic violence at all. Domestic violence is directed against the spouse and not against his friends and strangers. A mentally sick man would find it difficult to differentiate between domestic violence and normal violence.

Myth: One should not get involved with domestic violence as it is considered as a private matter.

Reality: This is outright false. Domestic violence is a crime punishable under law. Social pressure has to be exerted to end this type of violence.

Myth: Domestic violence does not affect many people.

Reality: Violence can affect a range of people. Research has showed that in the USA, a woman is beaten every nine seconds. If this is true of a developed economy like the US, then it should be 100 times truer of the underdeveloped countries.

Myth: Husbands as well as wives are equally violent and are to be blamed jointly.

Reality: A survey has shown that about 95% of violence has been reported by women as having been perpetrated against by their male partner.

Myth: Pregnant women are never a victim of domestic violence.

Reality: Though this can be true to some extent research has shown that pregnant women too have not been spared by their aggressive male partner.

Myth: If domestic violence was really bad, the woman can just leave.

Reality: Many victims do leave and have lead successful lives. But this could have been because of her independence and the confidence she had in herself. Usually women in third world countries do not enjoy financial independence and the dreaded thought of what she could do for a living prompts them to endure this violence.

One can go on and on but this article as well as domestic violence should have an ending.