Understanding the Empathy Gaps in Domestic Abuse Victims: A Case Study Analysis

Slide 1 notes
The case study is about Vicki who is a partner of Mark. Vicki is found to become a
victim of abuse and stress ever since her relationship with Mark developed. Mark
used to verbally abuse her and insult her in front of others. He used to hit Vicki
and also made Vicki believed that she was the reason behind her behaviour.
Vicki also has the perception her personal behaviour was the reason behind
Mark’s unusual behaviour and so she was ashamed of reporting about abuse to
her parents or police. However, one day she fled after Mark raped her at home.
As personally I have no understanding regarding values and beliefs surrounding
domestic abuse victims and poor knowledge about early contextual factors
contributing to abuse, this empathy gap is the reason and intention behind
engaging in case analysis of Vicki. The empathy gaps identified in relation to the
case study client demonstrates the importance of socioeconomic circumstances,
personal values and beliefs on people’s response towards injustice and
knowledge. By reviewing the case study of Vicki and analyzing her behavior
based on her past life circumstances, I will be able to develop my knowledge and
increase empathy for the client. This would eventually reduce interpersonal bias
when dealing with such clients in the future.
Slide 2 notes:
Vicki kept Mark’s abusive behaviour as secret from her parent. Her pre-existing
values and beliefs regarding this action was her perception that all her family
and friend will think her to be at fault. This is driven by gender based values. The
review of Vicki’s pre-existing values shows that her actions are influenced by
stereotypes related to gender roles, cultural values and affection for parents. Her
gender based values makes her reluctance in reporting about abuse. Sharma
(2015) explained that socio-cultural factors like stereotypes related to gender
roles prevent many women to report about abuse. The stigma associated with
being separated or divorced is the reason behind Vicki’s response to Mark’s
violent behaviour.
Another beliefs emerging from Vicki’s value is the respect of her parents and the
values taught to her. Fear of not letting her parents down predicts her current
behaviour. Rakovec-Felser (2014) explains that many women fail to respond to
domestic values because of the moral values they acquire from their parents.
Fear of social stigma and disappointment for their parents is the reason for many
women to tolerate abusive behaviour of their partners. Hence, social values like
patriarchal arrangement of families, masculinity and cultural acceptance of the
use of force also create an environment for abuse of women. Similar case was
found for Vicki too.
Vicki initially hoped that her partner’s behaviour would change if she would
change her behaviour. The belief of her is based on values of empathy and
affection towards closed person. It is also driven by values of hope. Montesanti
and Thurston (2015) supports that many victims find it challenging to break
relationship with abusive partners because of the perpetrator’s loving gestures in
between acts of violence. Because of this positive hope, she never reported