OCTOBER is DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AWARENESS MONTH.
DOMESTIC VIOLENCE is not just violence against women in their homes. It is defined as a pattern of abusive or coercive behavior used to gain and maintain power and control over another person, regardless of gender, age, economic status, race, religion or education level.
DOMESTIC VIOLENCE includes but is not limited to
- willful intimidation,
- physical and sexual assault,
- battery,
- emotional and financial abuse,
- threatening words or actions,
- and others
DOMESTIC VIOLENCE covers crimes of violence most often committed by a current or former spouse of the victim, a co-parent of a child, a live-in or intimate partner in what is supposed to be a safe haven, the home.
Abusers often believe that the abuse is an entitlement, is acceptable, justified or unlikely to be reported; Victims often feel trapped by the abuser through isolation from family and friends, lack of finances, fear, shame, cultural acceptance, power and control.
DOMESTIC VIOLENCE and sexual assault are pervasive, life-threatening crimes affecting millions of individuals across the U.S.
According to the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence ( www.ncadv.org ), in 2020:
- On average, 20 people per minute are physically abused by intimate partners equating to approximately 10 million women and men being abused annually,
- 1 in 4 women and 1 in 9 men experience severe intimate partner physical violence, intimate partner contact sexual violence, and/or intimate partner stalking,
- 1 in 3 women and 1 in 4 men have experienced some form of violence by an intimate partner (such as slapping, shoving, and pushing) sometime in their lifetime,
- 1 in 7 women and 1 in 25 men have been injured by an intimate partner, and
- 1 in 10 women have been raped by an intimate partner.
The National Network to End Domestic Violence ( www.NNEDV.org ) (202) 543-5566 reports that:
- More than 1 in 3 women have experienced rape, physical violence and/or stalking by an intimate partner in her lifetime,
- Nearly 8 million women are raped, physically assaulted and/or stalked by a current or former intimate partner each year,
- 1 in 5 women and 1 in 71 men have experienced rape in her or his lifetime,
- Nationwide, an average of 3 women are killed by a current or former intimate partner every day.
And, according to the World Population Review’s website ( www.worldpopulationreview.com ), reported domestic violence and abuse (often synonymous with intimate partner violence) can also include violence against parents, children, or the elderly. The top 5 states are:
- MI: Against women 41.8%, against men 23.0%
- WV: Against women 41. 2%, against men 33.6%
- OK: Against women 40.7%, against men 49.1%
- MO: Against women 40.4%, against men 36.1%
- GA: Against women 39.9%, against men 35.1%
In my home state of Pennsylvania, domestic violence against women is 19.3% vs. 29.9% against men.
Watch for tips to PREPARE and PROTECT yourself and others from domestic violence so you can PERSEVERE and survive.