Groundhog Day, Every Day

Remember that movie, Groundhog Day? Bill Murray and Andie MacDowell portrayed reporters Phil and Rita, covering the annual events in Gobblers Knob with their camera man Larry, who was played by Chris Elliott. *Spoiler Alert… After covering the story of Punxatawney Phil, the team is unable to leave town and forced to stay overnight. The next morning Phil awakes to find it is AGAIN Groundhog Day. He soon realizes that he has – for some unknown reason – been condemned to repeat this same day and all of the events and human interactions over, and over, and over, and… Despite all of his efforts and attempts to act differently, engage others in new ways or even do nothing, the day proceeds in the same manner again, and again, and again, and…

Can you imagine waking up every day to realize you are destined to repeat the same events? And to find that - just like in the movie - nothing you do makes any difference in the outcome? Now imagine instead of re-experiencing a series of quirky but fun Pennsylvania traditions like Groundhog Day you experience a variety of abuses. This is the life of victims and survivors of domestic violence every day after day after day after...

According to the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence website (February 2018), 20,000 calls are placed a day to Domestic Violence Hotlines. Based on our experiences at Transitions, we know that many of those are repeat contacts from individuals, who called in the past related to abusive incidents and have called again because the violence continued. Very much like the main character, Phil, in the movie victims of abuse will do everything they possibly can to try and make the outcome different. Also, like Phil, many individuals don’t know what else to do to try and make things better for themselves and their children and might stop trying. They may simply resolve themselves to making the best of what appears to be ‘just the way things are.’

For our ill-fated reporter, Phil, he eventually happened upon circumstances that resulted in a spontaneous change and the ability to move on to a new day. Unfortunately, someone victimized by an abusive partner rarely encounters a sudden change of circumstances or change in their partner’s attitudes that enable them to abruptly live violence free. In contrast to the ‘six more weeks of winter’ as predicted by Punxsutawney Phil, the continuation of abuse is more apt to be in the range of six more months, years or even decades.

The process of extracting oneself from a violent relationship is typically a long and difficult path in which the repeated violence is likely to not only continue but even to become more severe. Fortunately, there are agencies like Transitions across Pennsylvania and the entire United States that can provide safe shelter, counseling and a variety of services so that friends, neighbors, and family victimized by an abusive partner/family member can get help and become survivors able to live much safer lives. Everyday, Transitions serves an important role in empowering survivors’ on their paths to safety for themselves and their children. This is a repetition we are committed to sustain. It is work that we will continue day, after day, after day… until it is no longer needed.

Written by Tara R., Snyder County Medical/Legal Advocate