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Violence and Abuse in the Home
by Dr. Clyde M. Narramore
O ne mid-morning several years ago, I received a phone call from Washington, D.C. It was an acquaintance who was serving on the staff of the President of the United States. "The President and the Attorney General," he said, "are concerned about the problem of violence and abuse in the home." He went on to say that the Attorney General was selecting a group of eight specialists to make a study of the problem. "We would like you," he said, "to serve on this committee of eight. There will be no other psychologists or psychiatrists on the committee."
He explained the committee would be meeting from time to time over a period of one year. "They'll be no remuneration for your services," he said, "but we'll take care of your traveling expenses to the various cities where you'll be conducting hearings, and we'll also pay for any hotel expenses."
Naturally, I felt honored to be selected for the project. A few weeks later I met with the other seven leaders along with members of the Attorney General's staff in Washington, D. C.
We assembled in a reception room not far from the White House. I looked around to see if I recognized anyone. A member of the committee stepped up to me and said, "Aren't you Dr. Narramore? I've heard you on the radio, and I've read some of your books."
He was John Ashcroft, then Attorney General for the state of Missouri, and now the United States Attorney General. Since he was a committed Christian and a gifted attorney it was a pleasure to work with him on the committee.
 Each year in the U.S. nearly a third
of a million children are victims of
substantiated
physical or sexual abuse.
And this only
includes those that are
both reported and proven.
During the following year, our committee met numerous times in large cities. A great deal of effort was made to familiarize ourselves with the problem of violence and abuse in the home. Although my colleagues and I at the Narramore Christian Foundation in California had worked professionally with many people who were perpetrators and/or victims of abuse, I learned a great deal more about the extent of the problem.
Each year in the U.S. nearly a third of a million children are victims of substantiated physical or sexual abuse. And this only includes those that are both reported and proven. There must be hundreds of thousands more that are never reported. One of every seven adults recall incidents of violence between their parents.
Long-term Effects of Violence and Abuse
If you were to study 100 people who had been abused and violated in their childhood and teenage years, you would find long-lasting effects. Even in their sixties, seventies, and eighties people still suffer from earlier traumatic experiences. Through the years I have received letters, especially from women saying , "I am in my eighties but I'm still suffering from the terrible things done to me as a child."
This shouldn't come as a surprise because violence and abuse are definitely opposed to the normal, healthy development of a person. It is somewhat like a beautiful highway which has been shaken and torn up by an earthquake or storm. The results can be seen years afterward, unless steps have been taken to repair and restore the brokenness to good health.
The effects of childhood trauma are also long lasting, because the details may have often been secreted away in a person's mind and have been boiling there for many years without the person being able to tell another soul. Since most abuse, and especially sexual abuse, is caused by a close relative such as a father, stepfather, live-in lover, uncle, grandfather, or some other person near the family, the harm seems doubly pernicious.
Here are some of the problems stemming from violence and abuse:
1. Extreme fears and phobias. When a person has been violated, it is only natural to develop extreme apprehension. This may last for years and become a generalized fear.
2. Difficulty with intimate relationships. Since abusers are often parents or others who should love and protect, abuse seriously undermines a person's capacity to trust and feel safe in close relationships. Children who are abused may in adulthood, become attracted to abusive mates and have difficulty accepting love and caring, even from their spouses. Such unions perpetuate violence.
 Continued on Page Two
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