Domestic Violence Awareness Month

October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month. According to the National Statistics Domestic Violence Fact Sheet, one in three women and one in nine men experience domestic violence with an intimate partner.

What is Domestic Violence?

It is the willful intimidation, physical assault, battery, sexual assault, and/or other abusive behavior as part of a systemic pattern of power and control perpetrated by one intimate partner against another. Domestic violence can range anywhere from emotional abuse, economic abuse, physical abuse, psychological abuse, to sexual abuse. There can even be spiritual abuse.

Many times, it starts off as the one that seems the least harmful, verbal, and progresses over time to the worse, physical. No matter what type of abuse one experiences, they all are very detrimental to a person's well-being and can take a toll on you in the long run.

How can I tell if I'm in an abusive situation?

When it comes to your inner thoughts and feelings, do you feel afraid of your partner majority of the time, feel numb or helpless, wonder if you're crazy, feel that you can't do anything right, avoid certain topics because you don't want to anger your partner, and believe that you deserve mistreatment? Then you are probably in an abusive relationship.

When it comes to your partner, do they humiliate you, yell at you, constantly criticize and put you down, ignore your opinions, put down your accomplishments, shift the blame to you for their abusive behavior, and see you as property or a sex object? Then you are probably in an abusive relationship.

Do they have a bad temper, hurt you, threaten to hurt you or kill you, threaten to take your children away or harm them, threaten to commit suicide if you leave, force you to have sex, and destroy your belongings? Then you are probably in an abusive relationship.

Do they act excessively jealous and possessive, try to control where you go or what you do and wear, isolate you from family and friends, limit your access to money, the phone, or the car, and constantly "check" up on you? Then you are probably in an abusive relationship.

No one deserves to be treated in this way and if you are in an abusive situation, you need to get out. At the first sign of abuse is when you should tell them deuces because if it happens once, it will happen again and will eventually get worse. Break the cycle on Domestic Violence. There's plenty of help out there for your situation. The National Domestic Violence Hotline is 1-800-799-7233 (SAFE) or 1-800-787-3224 (TTY). Always call 911 if you're in immediate danger.

Stay tuned for the next few blogs! I will go in depth with different signs of domestic violence and things that I recognize in many people's situation, who end up being victims to domestic violence.