Domestic violence is a serious problem in Pennsylvania and throughout the U.S. On average, nearly 20 people experience domestic violence every minute, with ten million victims of domestic violence each year. One in four women and one in nine men will experience intimate partner violence in their lifetimes. But getting to the root of this problem often requires looking at what happens to domestic violence offenders as children.

Childhood Trauma and Domestic Violence

According to the National Institute for Justice, trauma experienced during childhood can have lasting negative effects well into adulthood, including psychological, social, behavioral, and biological harm. Kids who experience childhood trauma are more likely to experience:

• Further victimization, including domestic violence and sexual assault,
• Substance and alcohol abuse,
• Poor school performance,
• Depression and mental illness,
• Chronic disease, and
• Delinquency and adult criminality.

Children who grow up in a home with domestic violence are also more likely to experience domestic violence as adults. According to a 2017 study in The Lancet, men who experienced childhood abuse or trauma are more highly “associated with all forms of intimate partner violence perpetration.” Women who experienced childhood trauma and abuse were more highly “associated with physical intimate partner violence, and both physical and sexual intimate partner violence.” In this way, domestic violence becomes an unending cycle, with children in homes with domestic violence growing up to perpetrate or become victims of another generation of domestic violence.

Stopping the Cycle of Violence

Stopping the cycle of violence requires treatment. If you need help, or if you have an arrest for domestic violence, some options for treatment include:

• Anger management classes,
• Individual counseling,
• Group counseling, and
• Drug or alcohol treatment.

If you're facing criminal charges for domestic violence in Pennsylvania, the judge may also order you to attend anger management classes or counseling, as well as drug or alcohol treatment, as part of your sentence or terms of release. Penalties for domestic violence can begin at one year in jail and continue up to 99 years for a first-degree felony, depending on the grade of the charge against you. However, showing remorse and entering an abuse or anger management treatment plan may help mitigate a sentence or spur settlement talks with a prosecutor in some cases.

Hire an Experienced Criminal Defense Attorney

The consequences can be serious if you're facing domestic violence charges in Pennsylvania. You could face jail time, fines, domestic violence or anger management counseling, a restraining order, and loss of custody or visitation of your children. Moreover, a domestic violence-related criminal record will follow you for a lifetime, limiting your career and educational opportunities and damaging your reputation.

You need a skilled criminal defense lawyer guiding you through the criminal justice system to protect your rights. The skilled Criminal Defense Team at the LLF Law Firm can help. They've been helping Pennsylvanians through domestic violence charges and Protection from Abuse order requests for years. Find out how they can help you. Call the LLF Law Firm at 888-535-3686, or contact them online to set up your consultation.