|
|
According to http://en.wikipedia.org/ domestic violence is is a pattern of behavior which involves violence or other abuse by one person in a domestic context against another, such as in marriage or cohabitation. Intimate partner violence is domestic violence by a spouse or partner in an intimate relationship against the other spouse or partner |
What Does It Mean For You?
There are some who go through life and will never experience abuse. However, there are others who experience domestic violence in varies forms on a regular basis. These include the following:
These are only a handful of examples of abuse. And know that any one person, regardless of race, sex, religion, location, etc. can be a victim! Unfortunately, abuse happens EVERY. SINGLE. DAY. It doesn't matter if you live in the United States, England, Russia, or Africa. It favors no race whether it's White, Black, Hispanic, Native American, or Asian. Abuse has no bearing on age- infant to senior citizen- teen to middle-aged. D.V. shows no favoritism to the poor, middle class, or the wealthy. We are ALL susceptible.
One asks the question, why? Why would someone abuse someone they claim they love? Commonly there are two elements that drive this: Power & Control. They create fear and intimidation so they can get what they want. It's often thought as an entitlement and is an acceptable practice. The pattern the abuser uses is done so for very specific reasons unique to each individual case. The desired outcome is for the victim to submit, filling the needs of the abuser. Usually, these "needs" are never fulfilled, never "good enough".
Common behaviors of victims of domestic violence varies but may include but not limited to:
Finding a coping mechanism is vital for a survivor when being abused. What ways do victims use? (*Includes but not limited to)
Startling statics: Is it really an epidemic? Here are some facts that can help you decide. According to Upworthy.com 11,766 American women were killed by their husband/boyfriend between 09/10/2001-06/06/2012. Huffington Post estimates 85% of women experience intimate partner violence while 15% are men. They also say that 34% of women were murdered by their intimate partner between 2003-2012 while 2.5% were men being killed. Over 18,000 women were killed by men since 2003. NNEDV statistics show 3 women die due to domestic violence every single day. An estimated 38,028,000 women have endured abuse during their lifetime. Every year 4,774,000 women experience physical violence from their intimate partner. 1 in 4 women will be endure severe violence in their lifetime while 1 in 7 men will be victims of severe violence in their lifetime. The average cost of an emergency room visit due to DV is $948 for women and $387 for men. 98% of victims suffer through financial abuse making it the number 1 reason why victims stay or return to the relationship. 10,000,000 children are exposed to abuse every year. A woman is 70 times more likely to be murdered within a few weeks of leaving her abuser than any other time in their relationship. The stats are all in...and these are only touching upon a slight number that's been recorded. Is domestic violence an infectious disease spreading like the Spanish flu that killed 50-100 million people? I think so. The numbers may not be as staggering as the outbreak of the Spanish flu but is the 38,000,000+ women who experienced domestic violence really that far off?
- Verbal (name calling/put downs)
- Isolation from family and/or friends
- Sexual assault
- Financial
- Legal
- Physical (actual or threats)
- Stalking
- Intimidation
These are only a handful of examples of abuse. And know that any one person, regardless of race, sex, religion, location, etc. can be a victim! Unfortunately, abuse happens EVERY. SINGLE. DAY. It doesn't matter if you live in the United States, England, Russia, or Africa. It favors no race whether it's White, Black, Hispanic, Native American, or Asian. Abuse has no bearing on age- infant to senior citizen- teen to middle-aged. D.V. shows no favoritism to the poor, middle class, or the wealthy. We are ALL susceptible.
One asks the question, why? Why would someone abuse someone they claim they love? Commonly there are two elements that drive this: Power & Control. They create fear and intimidation so they can get what they want. It's often thought as an entitlement and is an acceptable practice. The pattern the abuser uses is done so for very specific reasons unique to each individual case. The desired outcome is for the victim to submit, filling the needs of the abuser. Usually, these "needs" are never fulfilled, never "good enough".
Common behaviors of victims of domestic violence varies but may include but not limited to:
- Anxiety
- Anger
- Guilt
- Shame
- Depression
- Helplessness
- Withdrawn from others
- Suspicious/ lack of trust
- Denial
Finding a coping mechanism is vital for a survivor when being abused. What ways do victims use? (*Includes but not limited to)
- Avoid the abuser
- Trying to reason with the abuser
- Alcohol/drug abuse to hide the pain
- Lying
- Halting her/his search for help
- Encouraging the abuser to drink until he/she passes out
- Silence- not telling family or friends about the abuse
- Defiance towards the abuser
- Hope- "one day he/she will change"
- Protecting the children in various ways
- Complying with demands
- Withdrawal
- Delayed developmental stages
- Fear
- Suicide
- Depression
- Anxiety
- Sleeping issues
- Nervous
- Eating issues
- Early sexual activity
- School problems
- Alcohol/drug abuse
- Running away from home
- Super achiever-perfectionist
- Embarrassment/shame
Startling statics: Is it really an epidemic? Here are some facts that can help you decide. According to Upworthy.com 11,766 American women were killed by their husband/boyfriend between 09/10/2001-06/06/2012. Huffington Post estimates 85% of women experience intimate partner violence while 15% are men. They also say that 34% of women were murdered by their intimate partner between 2003-2012 while 2.5% were men being killed. Over 18,000 women were killed by men since 2003. NNEDV statistics show 3 women die due to domestic violence every single day. An estimated 38,028,000 women have endured abuse during their lifetime. Every year 4,774,000 women experience physical violence from their intimate partner. 1 in 4 women will be endure severe violence in their lifetime while 1 in 7 men will be victims of severe violence in their lifetime. The average cost of an emergency room visit due to DV is $948 for women and $387 for men. 98% of victims suffer through financial abuse making it the number 1 reason why victims stay or return to the relationship. 10,000,000 children are exposed to abuse every year. A woman is 70 times more likely to be murdered within a few weeks of leaving her abuser than any other time in their relationship. The stats are all in...and these are only touching upon a slight number that's been recorded. Is domestic violence an infectious disease spreading like the Spanish flu that killed 50-100 million people? I think so. The numbers may not be as staggering as the outbreak of the Spanish flu but is the 38,000,000+ women who experienced domestic violence really that far off?