Raising Awareness about Domestic Violence

I have been a major fan of football ever since I can remember.  I watched all the “greats” of the game with my Dad when I was little.  Over recent years, I have been seriously shocked with some players regarding their abusive actions and hoped the league and NFL Commissioner would hold them accountable.  The almost weekly accounts of abuse from some players prompted Commissioner Roger Goodell to take a serious look at the issues of domestic violence in the NFL and inspired conversations to bring some much-needed education and awareness to intimate partner violence.  Yet, with all the bad, comes some good.  I was never more impressed with a player than in the 2015 season when I saw William Gay wear those now famous purple shoes.  Finally, someone was taking a stand for anti-violence.  You see, when William was 8 years old, he lost his mother when she was fatally shot three times by his step-father before he killed himself. He said his mother “didn’t know she was in an abusive relationship until it was too late; she didn’t know what domestic violence was, let alone how to get help.”  Education and awareness is everything.  So when William Gay wore those cleats, people noticed and they started to ask about it.  Some people responded with supportive comments, but others still tend to judge and criticize, asking “how does someone not know they are in an unhealthy relationship?" while others ask “why did they stay if the situation was that bad?” 

The National Coalition Against Domestic Violence defines domestic violence as ‘the willful intimidation, physical assault, battery, sexual assault, and/or other abusive behavior as part of a systematic pattern of power and control perpetrated by one intimate partner against another.'                                                                                      

It is mistakenly believed that domestic violence only occurs in uneducated, low-income relationships. That is far from the truth. Domestic violence can affect anybody regardless of age, gender, income, ability, sexuality, ethnicity or race. In fact, as many as 50% of all couples have experienced domestic violence at some point in their lives. Many people do not realize the impact domestic violence can have on an individual, family, or community.

According to the NCADV ‘s National Statistics Domestic Violence Fact Sheet:

·       In the United States, an average of 20 people are physically abused by intimate partners every minute. This equates to more than 10 million abuse victims annually.i

·      1 in 3 women and 1 in 4 men have been physically abused by an intimate partner.ii

·      1 in 5 women and 1 in 7 men have been severely physically abused by an intimate partner.iii

·      1 in 7 women and 1 in 18 men have been stalked.  Stalking causes the target to fear she/he or someone close to her/him will be harmed or killed.iv

·      On a typical day, domestic violence hotlines nationwide receive approximately 20,800 calls.

·       The presence of a gun in a domestic violence situation increases the risk of homicide by 500%.v

·       Intimate partner violence accounts for 15% of all violent crime.vi

·       Intimate partner violence is most common among women between the ages of 18-24.vii

·      19% of intimate partner violence involves a weapon.viii

So, let’s have a conversation about ending intimate partner violence.  What resources are available to you and your community?  Education is great.  It gives us knowledge that we might not already have and it provides us with valuable information. We need to support victims of domestic violence as much as possible and never put blame on them.  Encourage survivors to seek help to break the cycle of abuse and empower them as they move forward in their lives.  After all, understanding how you to help, is the best thing you can do.

i Black, M.C., Basile, K.C., Breiding, M.J., Smith, S.G., Walters, M.L., Merrick, M.T., Chen, J. & Stevens, M. (2011). The national intimate partner and sexual violence survey: 2010 summary report. Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/pdf/nisvs_report2010-a.pdf.

ii Ibid.  

iii Ibid.  

iv Ibid.

v Campbell, J.C., Webster, D., Koziol-McLain, J., Block, C., Campbell, D., Curry, M. A., Gary, F., Glass, N., McFarlane, J., Sachs, C., Sharps, P., Ulrich, Y., Wilt, S., Manganello, J., Xu, X., Schollenberger, J., Frye, V. & Lauphon, K. (2003). Risk factors for femicide in abusive relationships: Results from a multisite case control study.  American Journal of Public Health, 93(7), 1089-1097.

vi Truman, J. L. & Morgan, R. E. (2014). Nonfatal domestic violence, 2003-2012.  Retrieved from http://www.bjs.gov/content/pub/pdf/ndv0312.pdf.

vii Ibid.

viii Ibid.

Submitted by,

Heather S.

Prevention Education Specialist

October 16, 2017