University of Maryland Domestic Violence Discussion Questions & Responses

Discussion: “

Student Introduction to Class – What is Domestic Violence and the Power of Words”

Part I: Student Introduction

Please introduce yourself to the class and address the questions. Include the following in your introduction:

1. Introduce yourself and describe your educational and career goal
2. If I gave you one million dollars (don’t you wish), what would you do with it?
3. You are going to be stranded on an island and can take only two items; what would they be? (no pets or people are allowed)

Feel free to add any additional information that you would like to share. 

Part II:  Exploring the Meaning and Definitions of Domestic Violence Terms

 4.  What does domestic violence mean to you? Use the discussion video to guide your response!

•  What do you think is the difference between domestic violence and domestic dispute? 
•  What is the difference between victim and survivor? 

 5.  List three things you learned (or three key points) from the discussion resource video. (15) Patrick Stewart talks about domestic violence – YouTube

 6.  Using the video as a guide, what do you think is the difference between a primary victim and a secondary victim? 

• Is harm different? 
• Explain your position.

RESPONSE TO 2 PEERS

RESPONSE 1

1. Hello class my name is Jacqueline Zimmerman, and I am currently a senior here at ASU finishing my last semester before I graduate in fall (which I am super excited about) I will be getting my bachelors in criminology and criminal justice. I plan to follow in my dads footsteps who is retired from the FBI counter terrorism task force, and start testing for police departments to attain a job within law enforcement. It has been my dream ever since I was a little kid. I am a little older (31) so I have had some life experience in management and other job titles to help prepare me for this career. I wish everyone luck and success in your future endeavors and lets have a great class this semester!
2. If I was given a million dollars, so many things come to mind. I would love to go on a long vacation or two and travel the world a bit and get some experience of travelling in. On the other hand I love animals, and I would love to open up an animal sanctuary of some sort, or I have been riding horses since I was young, and I would love to open a horse sanctuary for disabled kids and kind of do a therapy school for them. (as I know horses are such majestic animals and I have heard good things about others I have seen) Also invest it in the long run to obtain more money.
3. If I was stranded on an island, the two things that I would take we cannot take.. (my dog, or people) so in all honesty I do not know what I would take with me. Maybe my phone in hopes to keep in contact with people, and or get rescued? Or if I am stranded I guess some sort of survival kit to help me stay alive.
4. Domestic violence to me, is a very common occurrence behind closed doors. It could be from the drunk abusive father, boyfriend, or even wife and girlfriend. It can be from roommates, ex spouses, etc. It comes in many forms, and there is no one definition of what it is. It can be physical abuse, emotional abuse, mental abuse.

• The difference between domestic violence and a domestic dispute, is domestic violence usually has some sort of physical contact between the offender and victim, and a domestic dispute, is usually just a verbal altercation
• The difference between victim and survivor is a victim is usually someone who is still trapped in domestic violence and the cycle. And a survivor is typically someone who has been able to get out of the cycle and overcoming what they have been through.

1. Three things I have learned from the video, was 1. How Patrick felt that he was at fault somehow because these things were happening to his mother, and a lot of children who are exposed to domestic violence feel this way. 2. Him saying he heard the police say well what did she do to provoke it, and or the doctors saying it takes two to have a fight. 3. It stuck with me when Patrick said just how long this has been going on and the embarrassment it has on a family for people knowing. As well as that he has had problems in his relationships that he has had because of the things he has experienced in his own home.
2. The difference between a primary victim and secondary victim is that a primary victim is the one going through the abuse, and a secondary victim is someone who is affected by it, like Patrick would be by witnessing the abuse by his mom.

• Yes, harm is different.
• Because you can be harmed physically aforementioned by being a victim in the cycle, or you can be harmed by seeing the pain someone else goes through.

 RESPONSE 2

.My name is Alyssa Cervantes. My educational goal is to graduate in December with my Bachelor’s degree in Criminology and Criminal Justice. I have recently decided that I would like to continue my education by obtaining my Masters in Public Administration or getting my teaching credential. I either want to be a juvenile probation officer or a third-grade teacher. I am still undecided at the moment.

2.If I were given one million dollars, I would pay off my student loans. It would be nice be debt free!

3.The two items that I would take with me if I were going to be stranded on an island are a lighter and a blanket. I will need to keep the light on and I will have something to keep me warm at night while I am sleeping.

4.In my opinion, Domestic Violence means behaviors that are violent against a significant other in order to control a partner. It can lead to emotional, physical and verbal abuse. The difference between domestic violence and domestic dispute is that domestic violence is when someone causes harm to an individual and domestic dispute is when shouting occurs. The difference between a victim and a survivor is that a victim refers to an individual who has been affected by the harm that was committed by someone and a survivor refers to an individual who has gone through a horrible situation and despite what happened they coped and continue to love their life.

5.Three things that I learned from the video is that nobody attempts to help, individuals always blame the victim, domestic violence is allowed to continue, and it is kept a secret (Stewart, 2007). I also learned that in the U.K. fifty percent of women claim that they have been a victim of sexual abuse, stalking and domestic violence (Stewart, 2007).

6.The difference between primary victim and secondary victim is that a primary victim is an individual who has directly been a victim of a crime and a secondary victim is an individual who witnesses the crime but was not harmed. In the video, Patrick discusses how the police treated his mother, he explains what they said about the incident (Stewart, 2007). His mother is the primary victim and Patrick is the secondary victim. I think the harm is the same because even though the secondary victim was not attacked in any way, that individual still saw what happened. It also affects them and what that individual experienced will never go away. They can still think about it, see it, and even dream about it. It affects all victims.