Domestic Violence

What do you do when you hear your next door neighbours fighting constantly? I have heard the fights between (I assume) the husband and wife for a very long time now. Typically the man is shouting angrily and the woman is returning his verbal assault with equal measure. Sometimes what you hear is sounds of beating and the woman screaming. Sometimes, it's the man thundering in pain and anger after (I assume again) the woman has flung a breakable object at him. A lot of times, you hear things been thrown about and a torrent of curse words. This is what is going on right now. This morning, it was the plaintive wails of a child being beaten.

The thing about violence within a family is that it is frequently endless. The father physically or verbally assaults the woman and in some cases she retaliates, in many cases she does not. Often, she feels that she is powerless. Always, the children are caught up in this spiral of violence as they suffer from a parent or parents who can only resolve disputes in anger. They also learn from their parents' relationship how to behave in their own social interactions.