Transitioning Times

In late 2017, the #MeToo movement catalyzed a change in our national conversation about sexual assault and harassment. The movement began when actress Alyssa Milano shared accusations of sexual assault and harassment against producer Harvey Weinstein. As other Hollywood mega-stars began to come forward with similar stories, #MeToo went viral. Twitter confirmed to CBS News that over 1.7 million tweets included the hashtag "#MeToo," with 85 countries that had at least 1,000 #MeToo tweets. Long before it became a hashtag, we are also aware that Tarana Burke began the #MeToo campaign in 1997, and we applaud her for her activism, her voice, encouraging others, especially women of color, to use their voices. This movement is shining a necessary light on an issue that has always been present for centuries. Historically, some people who have come forward regarding the violence perpetrated against them have had their voices elevated higher than others, particularly wealthy whit...

In light of October’s Domestic Violence Awareness Month, we wanted to focus on domestic violence and sexual assault on campuses. While sexual assault is a major issue on campus, many don’t realize that intimate partner violence (IPV) is a significant issue among college students. Women aged 16-24 experience the highest per capita rate of intimate partner violence in the United States. This is just one of the many eye-opening facts that demonstrate the severity of domestic violence among young people in this country. The following are more statistics showing the frequency of domestic violence and sexual assault, specifically on college campuses. •       21% of college students report having experienced dating violence by a current partner. 33% experience dating violence by a previous partner. •       13% of college women report they were forced to have sex by a dating partner. •       Over 13% of col...

In support of Domestic Violence Awareness Month, The Mary Kay Foundation SM announced it is awarding $3 million in grants to 150 domestic violence shelters across the country. Transitions of PA has received a $20,000 unrestricted grant to support local survivors of domestic violence in Union, Snyder, and Northumberland Counties.   This year’s grant contribution brings the Foundation’s total investment in its shelter grant program to $50 million.       The Mary Kay Foundation was established in 1996 with the overarching purpose of supporting issues impacting women. In 2000, The Foundation expanded to include ending domestic violence as part of its mission. The Foundation is committed to funding the life-saving work of women’s shelters and the annual shelter grant program has helped finance critical needs including emergency shelter, transitional housing, counseling and legal aid. All of these resources support women and children as they seek refuge and r...

Transitions is a crisis center that provides advocacy, empowerment, and education to victims, survivors, families and communities to end patterns of violence and abuse. We are looking to build safer families and communities by combating domestic violence, sexual assault, and other serious crimes. Our services are primarily focused in Union County as well as other surrounding areas. According to the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, 1 in 3 women and 1 in 4 men have been victims of some form of physical violence by an intimate partner within their lifetime. Our goal through this series of blog posts is to educate as well as bring awareness of the severity of these issues. These are some of the shocking nation-wide facts about how common domestic violence is. ·         Intimate partner violence accounts for 15% of all violent crimes ·         19% of domestic violence involves a weapon ·  ...

Navigating life is hard enough especially when you are doing so after moving on from an abusive relationship.  Often a survivor finds that the very last hold an abuser can claim is that of the bonds of matrimony.  Although divorce law has remained relatively true to the protection of property interests first, we have seen some evolution in the minimal requirements to break those marital ties when property is not at issue.  The two most often used grounds for divorce are the consensual divorce, where both parties agree to the dissolution of the marriage, and the separate and apart claim where both parties have lived their lives separated for a substantial period of time.  Both of these options come with caveats that often hinder a smooth transition into total freedom when one party refuses to agree just to be spiteful. Recently, an entirely new section was added to the divorce code which has proven to be uniquely essential to our clientele.  Section 3301(c)(...

The Bureau of Justice Statistics estimates that 3 women are killed by a current or former intimate partner every day. During the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan (2001-2012), 6.488 American soldiers were killed. During that same time, 11,766 women were murdered by a current or former male partner. Since 2008, more than 100 people lost their lives as a result of domestic violence each year. Domestic violence is deadly – not just for those who are being abused. In fact, domestic calls are some of the most dangerous for law enforcement. A study by the National Law Enforcement Memorial Fund found that 22% of officer deaths that occur in the line of duty happen while responding to domestic violence calls. Those statistics are difficult to understand. With all we know about intimate partner violence, why can’t we stop these killings? Through the Lethality Assessment Program (LAP), the Pennsylvania Coalition Against Domestic Violence is hoping to do just that.  In 2012, PCADV began ...

I know there is a saying about how love doesn’t hurt, but I disagree…let me explain. I am a witness and a survivor of domestic violence, so I am speaking from my heart, my experiences. When you love someone, it hurts to know that the person you love so much has hurt you. In a domestic capacity, it could be your spouse, sibling, parent or even your child. These are people you love deeply and are supposed to feel the same about you. I got married at age 18 because I had two children with the guy I had been dating for 3 years. The relationship was abuse in its rarest form; I was 15 and pregnant and he was 18 right out of high school. It hurt my family to see me in such a manipulative and emotionally abusive situation with the father of my unborn child because they loved me. After our child was born the abuse didn’t stop. I got pregnant again; sadly, we brought a second child into what was already a bad situation. As the children got older they started to see and unde...

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...

Throughout the past couple years working with survivors, a few times I have heard clients say that someone in their support system stopped talking to them because they chose to go back to their abuser. Sometimes the person can’t handle seeing their loved one go through continued abuse, and sometimes they deem the act as “tough love,” hoping if they cut ties, their loved one will choose to leave and stay away from their abuser. I am saddened when I hear this from my clients. In some cases, these loved ones have good intentions, but often with bad results. I understand the notion of tough love, but I don’t think cycles of violence and abuse are the place for tough love. There are an endless amount of reasons that survivors may return to their abuser, especially when kids are involved. Most of all, enduring abuse is psychological and traumatic. Experiencing trauma at the hands of an abuser creates trauma bonds in the survivor where they become psychologically bonded with their perpet...

Recently, the #metoo campaign has received a great deal of online attention. Women share their stories of harassment or assault to bring attention to the widespread nature of sexual harassment and sexual violence. In response, some men have been using the hashtag #HowIWillChange to speak out about ways they will contribute to ending harassment and sexual assault. Much like sexual violence, domestic violence disproportionately affects women. And like sexual violence, domestic violence against women is influenced by institutional sexism, cultural misogyny, and widespread acceptance of subjugation of women. Men are also victims of domestic violence, rape, and harassment, but crimes against men have wildly different causes, solutions, and societal response. While violence against men is influenced by expectations of gender roles, violence against women is overwhelmingly a gender-based issue. Long-held cultural, societal, and religious traditions provide protection and reinforcement fo...

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 kn...