The effect of domestic violence on child upbringing in Mirembe Maria Parish, Mubende District in the light of Humanae Vitae

Abstract

The prevalence of domestic violence is alarming and unacceptable. When people talk about violence in families and relationships they are usually talking about abuse. Abuse includes a range of behaviors from intimidation and threats to physical or sexual assault. An abuser uses these to gain power and control over the victim and to try and take away their sense of self-worth. Domestic violence can affect anyone of any age or gender. Whether it’s physical or psychological, domestic abuse is destructive for both the battered and the batterer. For (James S. , 2013) the tendency of passing down this menace of DV, makes it all the more important to develop effective methods for combating it and stamping it out completely from homes and society at large. The researcher set out to find out the effect of Domestic Violence on child upbringing in Mirembe Maria parish –Mubende district in the light of Humanae Vitae. It was found out that, in Mirembe Maria Parish there are cases of humiliating or degrading children, yelling at them, insulting them, calling them names, isolating them by stopping them from leaving homes, using the telephone, or having visitors, not letting them have any money, Controlling and limiting what they do, where they go, who they see, and what they wear, Breaking their things and damaging property, Forcing them into sexual activity they don't want, Shoving, slapping, choking, punching or kicking them, and Hurting them with an object of any kind. It was found out that all things mentioned about are existing in Mirembe Maria Parish. To address this issue, parents, children, Local Council and Church Leaders need to do more work to end domestic violence in the homes of Mirembe Maria Parish. Using available and accessible literature from authentic publishers the causes, effects and solutions to DV have been well presented in chapter two. Church teaching especially HV an encyclical of Paul VI has been used. Generally all authors agree that DV is due to ignorance of its effects on child upbringing and an awareness of what the church especially through her documents like HV has said about it since “the church is a guarantor of true human values” (HV 18). In chapter three the researcher presents the design, study population, sampling strategies, procedure and data analysis techniques that were used in the study. The major outcomes of the study were; children in families and communities in Mirembe Maria Parish that witness domestic violence are greatly affected by this violence. They often grow up thinking that violence is normal and creating relationships that also involve violence. More so, the community that is silent about DV in Mirembe Maria Parish is greatly affected by the consequences of its silence. Men who are often violent towards women and children are often also unhappy, they may;  Feel tense and angry  Have tension in their homes  Lack intimacy and enjoyable sexuality with their partner  Feel disrespected by others etc. The researcher set out to contribute solutions to DV; the counseling skills in working with these populations require competence in both recognizing unexpressed issues from the past and proactive prevention of future abuse. The intensity of DV was found to be great and its effect on child upbringing was immense according to the responses from the field. As well indicated by graph 2 and table 6 on page 50 all the 222 (100%) respondents agreed that DV affects the growth and development of children. In the above context, the study concluded that the church and state have done their work but secularism and traditionalism are affecting the people of Mirembe Maria Parish. If parents, children, Local council, and church leaders each one does his/her work DV will be no more in Mirembe Maria Parish.