Domestic Violence as OppressionOppression is not a new phenomenon and is defined in the Social Work Dictionary as a social act of imposing severe restrictions on an individual, group or institution. Typically, a ruling government or political organization imposes restrictions on formally or covertly oppressed groups so that they may be exploited and less able to compete with other social groups. The oppressed individual or group is devalued, exploited, and deprived of privileges by the individual or group with more power (Barker, 2003). Therefore, domestic violence is a form of oppression and control usually perpetrated against women and/or children and is defined by the Social Work Dictionary as the abuse of children, elders, spouses and others people in the house, usually by another family member or other residents. A social problem in which a person's health or life is endangered or results from the intentional behavior of another family member (Barker, 2003). According to the National Crime Victimization Survey, there are more than 960,000 annual cases of domestic violence in In the United States, 85% of domestic violence victims are women, and women are eight times more likely than men. men to be victims of intimate partner assault. It is conservatively estimated that at least 11% of women in the United States are involved in violence. intimate relationships. The preponderance of evidence suggests that the experience of domestic violence varies significantly based on demographic characteristics. For example, black women, women ages 16 to 24, women with children under 12, and women living in low-income households are more likely to experience higher rates of domestic violence. .. middle of paper ......n, RL, LaTaillade, JJ, Dacey, A. and Marghi, JR (2008). Evaluation of domestic violence interventions for black women. Journal Of Aggression, Maltreatment & Trauma, 16(3), 330-353. Kapadia, M., Saleem, S. and Karim, MS (2010). The hidden figure: domestic sexual violence among Pakistani women. European Journal of Public Health, 20(2), 164-168. doi:10.1093/eurpub/ckp110United Nations Development Fund (2009) Ending violence against women, a new volume of case studies explores what works. Available at: http://www.unfpa.org/public/News/pid/1967. Accessed April 2014 United Nations (1993) Declaration on the elimination of violence against women: proceedings of the United Nations world conference on human rights GA res. 48/104, 48 GAOR Supp. (No. 49) at 217, Doc. A/48/49.https://www.unfpa.org/swp/2005/english/notes/page3.htm Accessed April 2014