Domestic Violence Related Crime Throughout West Virginia

Domestic violence is a universal problem that can affect an individual of any age, gender, race, education level, social class, or culture. This type of violence is considered to be one of the most widespread public health crises in the United States (Black et al., 2011). The purpose of this essay is to create a plan for a program that addresses domestic violence-related crime in West Virginia. To begin, significant information in relation to domestic violence will be provided. This will be followed by the program plan, which will include seven steps: an analysis of the problem, identification of goals and objectives, development of a program design, development of an action plan, development of a plan to monitor program effectiveness,†¦show more content†¦Although women can be perpetrators, they are more often the victims of abuse than men. According to Blair, McFarlane, Nava, Gilroy, and Maddoux (2015), 92 percent of domestic violence offenders are male (p. 23). Dome stic violence perpetrators that become involved in the criminal justice system are overwhelmingly male offenders between the ages of 18 and 35 years old. Data from studies conducted in the United States have revealed that a significant amount of male abusers have had some type of previous contact with the criminal justice system. It should be noted that this contact includes positive and negative encounters. Since abusers come from all walks of life, they can be respected law-abiding members of their communities or unpopular individuals with a criminal history. There are no set standards or explicit personality traits that wholly identify abusers. However, researchers have identified certain indicators and risk factors that may predispose one to become an abuser (U.S. Department of Justice, 2009). One dominant attribute of domestic violence is the rate of recurrence for substance use or abuse in domestic violence incidents. Researchers have determined that there is an extremely high correlation between the use of these substances and domestic assaults. Research endorsed by the National Institute of Justice has established that