I have been very fortunate to not experience any of
stressors mentioned. However I have a cousin in Costa Rica who grew up with an alcoholic
father. He was not abusive physically but emotionally he did a lot of damage.
He came home every night very drunk. Then after arriving home falling all over
the place he was sick. While the mom carried him to the bed and changed him my
cousin and her younger brothers were left to clean the house as he purged all
the way to the room. Imagine a 6 year old cleaning up after her sick father.
Not sick my illness but sick by choice. Till this day he is still the same and
they all left the house at the age of 17. They found jobs and got married and
none of them drink. I could not imagine living my whole life in a household
where every night it was routine to see this happening.
I chose to read about domestic violence because I really do
not know which country has the worst rate. I did imagine it to be Afghanistan
but wasn't sure at all. When I read this small article I could not believe the
amount of abuse a woman goes through in that country.
Afghanistan: The
average Afghan girl will live to only 45 – one year less than an Afghan male.
After three decades of war and religion-based repression, an overwhelming
number of women are illiterate. More than half of all brides are under 16, and
one woman dies in childbirth every half hour. Domestic violence is so common
that 87 per cent of women admit to experiencing it. But more than one million
widows are on the streets, often forced into prostitution. Afghanistan is the
only country in which the female suicide rate is higher than that of males.
Source:
http://www.thestar.com/news/world/2008/03/08/ten_worst_countries_for_women.html
While I would like to say that I can't believe there are places in the world where women are treated this way, I can't. I was surprised by the average lifespan for women in Afghanistan, being 45. It is really sad and disheartening to know that there are countries where women and children(girls) are still treated so horribly.
ReplyDeleteIn regards to your cousin in Costa Rica, I know how horrible it is to live with an alcholic. My ex husband was an alcholic, and while he was not a mean drunk, it was no fun cleaning up after him, and the always feeling like I was apart of his diease.
Hi,
ReplyDeleteI think that domestic violence is something horrible to go through and it does leave an impact on children. My mother grew up in a home with domestic violence many times fueled by drinking and she will not even take a sip of anything. I feel that even in her adult life, she is still healing.
That is heartbreaking to hear about domestic violence in Afgahanistan. I wonder what it will take to change those statistics.
Elizabeth,
ReplyDeleteI was saddened to hear about what your cousins had to go through as children. A child should never have to feel responsible for taking care of a parent. It is unfortunate that they had to endure it for so long. Do you think that their experiences as children have continued to affect their lives as adults? Has it affected their relationships, parenting styles etc. in anyway?
Elizabeth,
ReplyDeleteHow awful for your cousin and her siblings to grow up in that environment. Two of my cousins were raised by "high-functioning" alcoholics. Their parents were not physically or verbally abusive but they still grew up in a strange environment because no one talked about it.
Melissa
Hi Elizabeth, It is very disturbing to think about the conditions in which people have to try and survive and raise their families. Although here in the U.S. we have many of the same issues, at least there are some resources and ways to get out of abusive situations for some. We have alot of work to do in this world and what we teach and model to our children is a good start and that's why what we do is so important. Cindy Ferguson
ReplyDelete