What Do You Really Know About Domestic Violence

   

Domestic Violence is defined as "a pattern of behavior which involves violence or other abuse by one person against another in a domestic context" (i.e. marriage, cohabitation, or intimate partner). Although women make up for 85% (from 1994-2010, 4 in 5) of domestic violence victims, men are NOT exempt from abuse. Domestic violence is also NOT contained to heterosexual couples.
     24 people per minute become victims of rape, physical violence, and/or stalking, which is more than 12 million men and women over the course of the year. Women between the ages of 20-24 and 25-34 generally experienced higher rates of [nonlethal] violence; while 24.3% of women and 13.8% of men (18 years of age and older) have been the victim of SEVERE physical violence in their lifetime.  14.8% of women and 4% of men have been injured by the hands of an intimate partner, a person that claimed to love them.

     Perpetrators of abuse tend to believe that the abuse is justified AND acceptable........yet go to great lengths to hide the abuse that they inflict upon their victims.  Many victims of domestic violence feel or are trapped due to:

• isolation
• the power & control inflicted upon them via their abuser
• insufficient financial resources
• fear
• shame
• protection of children

    The above are contributing factors as to why on 25% of physical assaults are reported to the police.   As trapped as a victim may feel, family and friends need to step in and give information and supply resources for escape, ESPECIALLY since boys that witness domestic violence are two times as likely to become abusive as they age.   

     Domestic violence does NOT have one form, although what is mostly discussed is physical.  The forms of domestic violence are as follows:

Types of Domestic Violence

• physical
• emotional
• verbal
• economic
• sexual

     On average (in the US), 29% of women and 10% of men have experienced rape, physical violence and/or stalking.  35.6% of women and 28.5% of men have experienced rape, physical violence and/or stalking; while nearly 50% of men and women have experienced psychological aggression in their lifetime.

     The above are just a FEW of the statistics that are associated with domestic violence.  It is shocking and mind boggling that with the amount of organizations that have been founded to combat this epidemic.....it still exists and is growing in our society.  It is time to take the stigma off of domestic violence.  It is time to STOP making victims feel stupid for how long it takes to get out or not being able to get out alone.  Lend a helping hand by educating yourself and go to a friend or family member in need with resources rather than ridicule.  Encourage counseling, because along with any visible bruises.....their is damage that cannot be seen with the eye.  

For a list of resources, please visit: 10 Domestic Violence Resources