*Professor Note: You need to tell me the new policy* A policy involves a system of principles that are usually implemented by the government or other institutions with the aim of achieving a certain outcome. Policies have been adopted in the criminal justice sector with the aim of maintaining social control or punishing the criminal offenders. For a policy to be effective, it must address the immediate problem and contain a solution method that should be used to deal with the problem. There are many criminal justice related problems in the society today such as domestic violence. Domestic violence is defined as the act of repeated abuse that an intimate partner inflicts on the other with the aim of maintaining control or power over the partner. It is also referred to as intimate partner violence. Need for Change - Documenting the need for change involves identification of the problem and consulting with the stake holders to find ways that the immediate problem can be resolved. This could be achieved through the implementation of a new policy. The policy dictates that there should be clear and firm guidelines regarding the prosecution of domestic violence offenders in all states. This ensures that all those found guilty of the crime are to face the courts to pay for their crimes. This will encourage more female victims to speak up against the crime especially in states where the laws against domestic violence are vague and undefined. Domestic violence can involve emotional, physical, financial or verbal abuse. The main victims of domestic violence are usually women who mostly experience physical abuse (Vedung, 2017). Domestic violence is a criminal offence that is overlooked in most countries. In some of these countries, it is considered legal especially where cases of infidelity are involved. Men who are physically or emotionally abused rarely report these cases to health workers for fear of being victimized. The victims of physical abuse experience cycles of repeated abuse followed by periods of calmness which makes them believe that the act is justifiable or believable. This POLICY DEVELOPMENT 2 makes the children in the homes adopt the same behavior where they also believe that domestic violence is acceptable. Domestic violence victims may feel trapped in a violent situation for a number of reasons such as lack of finances, protecting the children, fear, cultural acceptance and shame (Sabatier & Weible, 2014). Domestic violence leads to mental conditions, physical disabilities, post-traumatic stress disorder, and other health related complications. Victims of domestic violence also find it hard to build relationships with other people due to distrust. *NOTE MAKE THE 2ND PARAGRAPH INTO 2 PARAGRAPHS BECAUSE IT’S TOO LONG* History of Problem - Domestic violence existed a long time ago but minimal attention was given to the issue prior to the 19th century. The fight against domestic violence in the United States began in 1850 in Tennessee which was the first state to declare the beating of a wife by their husband as a crime against the law. By the 1870s, most state courts had outlawed domestic violence with the police intervening in these cases. The United Nations released “the strategies for Confronting Domestic Violence: A Resource Manual” in 1993 which urged all countries to treat domestic violence as a crime. Since then, domestic violence has been outlawed in most countries (Agyepong & Adjei, 2008). Potential causes - There are several causes for domestic violence among them being drug and substance abuse, mental disabilities, overdependence on a partner, unemployment, isolation and acceptability of domestic violence (McKenney & Kiesecker, 2010). The general idea that domestic violence is acceptable in most cultures is the main reason why domestic violence is common. This is because the act is not considered a crime in these cultures thus reporting the crime would not result in any corrective action. 2 POLICY DEVELOPMENT 3 Previous interventions - There have been previous legal interventions that have been made by the government to reduce the rate of domestic violence in the country. These include policies that convict criminals who are found guilty of committing these crimes and finding safer homes and medical care to the victims. These previous interventions have been examined using assessment forms that have been provided by health care workers to different homes. They ask for a mention or a general description of domestic violence in the homes to try and figure out the forms of domestic violence being practiced and if the methods used to prevent domestic abuse are effective. Stakeholders - The relevant stake holders are classified into primary, secondary and key stakeholders. The primary stakeholders are the victims of domestic violence such as the wives, children or the elderly. The one that conducted the crime is also a primary stakeholder. The emergency room officials and the police who deal with these crimes were secondary stakeholders while the government is a key stakeholder. The stakeholders were identified by carrying out questionnaires in the community to identify names of victims, getting ideas from the stakeholders that are already identified and consultation with other organizations. System Analysis - A system analysis is conducted to figure out the feasibility of a given policy. It is also conducted to find out if the policy or the system is achieving its given function and if there are ways that it can be improved. The system analysis was conducted through data gathering methods such as interviews and questionnaires that were offered to stakeholders to get their feedback on whether the interventions being used were achieving a positive result (Vedung, 2017). 3 POLICY DEVELOPMENT 4 Barriers and Support - There is a need for a change in the intervention methods used to deal with domestic violence. However, implementation of a new policy faces a number of barriers as much as support received. There are several ways used to identify these barriers and support for change. The process involved an iterative review of the existing literature, use of focus groups, brain storming, interviews, use of a pilot study and use of small discussion groups (McKenney & Kiesecker, 2010). These methods help in identifying how relevant and effective a certain policy or procedure would be in solving a given problem. The barriers identified would be overcome through adaptation of strategies and practices that would lead to the delivery of long term positive results. Conclusion Domestic violence is, therefore, a major societal problem that needs to be remedied. There have been efforts that have been made to increase awareness of the issue but better policies still need to be created to minimize the domestic violence cases in the world. Through the adoption of a new policy, there will be an overall decrease in the cases of domestic violence against women across the world. A system analysis, therefore, needs to be conducted to determine if the policy will be effective. 4 POLICY DEVELOPMENT 5 References Agyepong, I. A., & Adjei, S. (2008). Public social policy development and implementation: a case study of the Ghana National Health Insurance scheme. Health policy and planning, 23(2), 150-160. McKenney, B. A., & Kiesecker, J. M. (2010). Policy development for biodiversity offsets: a review of offset frameworks. Environmental management, 45(1), 165-176. Sabatier, P. A., & Weible, C. M. (Eds.). (2014). Theories of the policy process. Westview Press. Vedung, E. (2017). Public policy and program evaluation. Routledge. 5
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