Domestic Violence

  Part A

  In Uganda, rape or non-consensual sex is considered as sexual violence. Sules is in a physically violent relationship and moreover, she is infected with HIV. The first supporting fact to show that the act is a crime in Uganda is that Sules was involved in non-consensual sex.  Note that in Uganda, there is a high HIV epidemic among young women aged 15-24 years due to non-consensual sex (Birdthistle et al, 2013).  Sex without consent is considered as sexual violence since the intimate partner forces the other partner to engage in sexual intercourse.  In this case, Sules is physically forced to have sex.  In addition to non- consensual sex, another supporting fact to show that the activity described in the case is a crime is HIV infection. Note that willfully and intentionally transmission of HIV is considered as an offense that deserves serious legal actions.  In this case, Sules' new husband is aware of his HIV status but he goes ahead to engage in non-consensual sex without protective measures (Birdthistle et al, 2013).  Thus, non-consensual sex and intentional transmission of HIV are facts to support that the new husband commits an offense. In addressing the case, the court should take criminal charges since the evidence is beyond a reasonable doubt that the act is sexual violence.  The victim testifies that she was not only beaten but also raped persistently and infected with HIV.  In addition to addressing the case in the court, there should be HIV prevention programmes aimed at protecting victims of HIV from repeated sexual coercion, promote HIV testing, HIV disclosure, healthy living, and adherence to treatment (Birdthistle et al, 2013).  These strategies will reduce sexual assaults and reduce HIV infections.

 Zablotska et al (2007) assert that young women are victims of HIV infection and sexual coercion.  Research has found that men are influenced by alcohol use to commit violent behavior. Alcohol use is associated with intimate partner violence and HIV infection in many cultures.  In Uganda, there is a correlation between alcohol use and intimate partner violence (Zablotska et al, 2007). This is because men have power control than women and thus they can make a sexual decision including unprotected sex.  The first supporting fact to show that experts in Uganda encounter problems in trying to ascertain non-consensual are that they only rely on self-reported behaviors.  .The latter means that women report the matter for themselves. This means that they may exaggerate and the information given may contain various biases.  For example, women report that their intimate partners use alcohol before committing sexual violence. Police cannot detect whether the woman also consumed alcohol and whether the alcohol caused memory impairment (Zablotska et al, 2007). The experts find it difficult to measure the reliability and validity of the results. Women may fail to give an accurate report and as a result, alcohol use, rape, and HIV infections may be underestimated.  Another fact is that the findings show that alcohol use increases HIV transmission.  In other words, alcohol use is a risk factor since intimate partners who consume alcohol engage in unprotected sexual behaviors (Zablotska et al, 2007). However, an expert may find it hard to measure whether sex was not consensual since both partners may be under the influence of alcohol.

 

 

Part B

 In addressing Susan's case, I would conduct a psychological evaluation to understand the teens behavioral and mental health problems. Three questions that I would like the teenager to answer include; tell me about the relationship between you and your family?  When and why did you start engaging in school fights?  Do you have a sexual partner?  All these questions will help the teen build self-awareness and have the perception that I value her life.  For instance, the first question will help understand if there is a relationship conflict in the family.  Note that family can affect the teen's emotional health and motivate them to engage in substance use behavior (Sukhodolsky et al, 2016).  Since substance use is a multidimensional disorder, it is important to consider another dimension or factor which is the social relationship with other teens. Note that she has engaged in physical fighting with other teens at the school and it is important to know the root cause of aggressive behavior.  The reason as to why  I would like to know more about teen's fighting at school is because violence among teenagers is an issue of concern since it may cause negative consequences in teen's development and academic performance (Sukhodolsky et al, 2016).  Third, I would like to know whether the teen has a sexual partner.  The burns found in her arms and thighs and the cuts from a razor blade may be as a result of violence from her intimidate a partner.  She might be a victim of intimate partner violence and it is important to examine her sexual relationship life.

 The concerns that I might have concerning Susan's case are that if she has depression and anxiety, and if she abuses drug which may have causes sexually transmitted infections such as HIV.  Since she is a victim of physical fighting, and poor social relationship with family members and teens, it is important to find if these behaviors are influenced by depression and drug abuse.  Given that she runs away from home, there is a likelihood that she engages in drug abuse behaviors with peers and she is also a victim of sexual risk behaviors. There are some signs to show that Susan is using cigarettes and this could be related to other issues such as sexual behaviors.  Thus, the risk to HIV infection and depression are two major things that I would pay attention to.  These issues require an intervention approach to examine her condition, identify the problem, and propose the best solutions to help her modify behaviors.

  To encourage Susan develop positive and acceptable behaviors, one appropriate intervention would be cognitive-behavioral therapy.  The purpose of the CBT approach is to regulate emotion and provide the teen with problem-solving skills. The goal is to ensure that the teen develops positive feeling and behaviors (Sukhodolsky et al, 2016). To control aggression, the teen will learn social skills so that she may know how to interact with family members and peers at school. The aggressive behaviors may motivate teens to engage in drug use and risky sexual behaviors but through CBT, the teen will gain anger control training and problem-solving skills training and as a result, she will make positive decisions and develop acceptable behaviors (Sukhodolsky et al, 2016).  In general, CBT is associated with benefit in reference to this case in that it will help Susan think clearly and rationally, she will control her thoughts, and she will recover from depression and anxiety through attaining calmness and peace. If she is using unknown substances, she will gain coping skills, improve self-esteem, and the state of mind.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

References

 

Birdthistle, I., Mayanja, B. N., Maher, D., Floyd, S., Seeley, J., & Weiss, H. A. (2013). Non-

consensual sex and association with incident HIV infection among women: a cohort

study in rural Uganda, 1990–2008. AIDS and Behavior, 17(7), 2430-2438.

 

Sukhodolsky, D. G., Smith, S. D., McCauley, S. A., Ibrahim, K., & Piasecka, J. B. (2016).

Behavioral interventions for anger, irritability, and aggression in children and

adolescents. Journal of child and adolescent psychopharmacology, 26(1), 58-64.

 

Zablotska, I. B., Gray, R. H., Koenig, M. A., Serwadda, D., Nalugoda, F., Kigozi, G., ... &

Wawer, M. (2009). Alcohol use, intimate partner violence, sexual coercion and HIV

among women aged 15–24 in Rakai, Uganda. AIDS and Behavior, 13(2), 225-

233.