Domestic Violence

There is so much that you really should know about domestic violence... besides the fact that it is a serious, widespread social problem in America today.

Here are some other facts:

At least 50% of the men who frequently assaulted their wives also frequently abused their children. Each year, between 2,000 - 5,000 children die each year because of domestic violence. Most victims of domestic violence allow themselves to be beaten, so that they want the abuse to end. They engage in various survival strategies to protect themselves and their children (i.e., calling the police and/or seeking help from family members). Another strategy is silence (ie taking a beating to keep the batterer from attacking the children).

As a result, most victims suffer from psychological effects (ie post traumatic stress disorder or depression), as a result of being constantly abused

When domestic violence involves children, it can either be direct and intentional or indirect and accidental. If it is direct and intentional then it is considered to be a deliberate and willful act that has been carried out with the purpose of injuring the child. If it is indirect and accidental then the damage results when a child lives with family violence. In this case, the youth is not the target of the violence, but must live with the pain and suffering which results from such experiences. This is why the terms domestic violence and family violence are interchangeable.

There are close to 1,500,000 incidents of domestic violence per year and that 1 in every 3 women has been domestically abused during their lifetime.

At least one-third of American women (31%) report being abused by a partner at some point in their lives. Furthermore, 25% of American women report being domestically abused and that 30% of Americans say that they know a woman who has been domestically abused in the past year. In addition 37% of women who sought treatment in emergency rooms for violence-related injuries were domestic related.

Besides, male violence against women does much more damage than female violence against men? Women are much more likely to be injured than men and that women are 7 to 14 times more likely than men to report suffering severe physical assaults from domestic violence. As a matter of fact, more than 3 women are murdered by their partners every day?

What is insidious about emotional abuse is that you can't point to physical injuries that clearly show that someone is hurting you. All you have is a deeper and deeper pain that you cannot connect with the abuser and you can't figure out why. You wonder why you can't communicate clearly (because he misinterprets everything you say), or that you aren't nice enough. Is it because a nice woman would not mind a little teasing ?

For those of you, who are interested in getting more information on DV, visit;

Speaking Out Against Domestic Violence
Surviving Domestic Violence
Date and Domestic Violence Victims Anonymous