domestic violence awareness month

This month is October is Domestic Violence Awareness month. Since there are many myths associated with domestic violence I decided to write to dispel some of those myths.

Here are some of these myths:

1)      Domestic Violence is uncommon. The truth is domestic violence is common. One in every three women will be abused by her partner at some point in her life.

2)      Only poor women are affected by domestic violence. The truth is domestic violence does not discriminate.  Rich people are affected by domestic violence, just as much as poor; they just may have more resources available than poor people. Also people of all races, ethnic groups, ages, sex, cultural group and religions can be affected by domestic violence.

3)      The woman causes the abuse. There is nothing that one person can do to cause another person to hit them.

4)      Domestic Violence is caused by stress, a mental illness, or drug abuse.  These things can cause violence to escalade, but they do not cause the violence. Many batterers use these things as an excuse to harm their partner, but abuse is  a choice

5)      Children are not affected by domestic violence.  40- 60 percent of batterers also abuse their children. Even if they do not hit their children, the children are still affected by the abuse. Many children who witness their mothers being abused suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder and nightmares.

6)      IF the abuse were bad the woman would just leave.  Many times if a woman leaves she is putting herself in harm’s way. 75 percent of women who are killed by their partners are killed after they left or when they are in the process of leaving.

7)      If someone was a batterer you could tell by looking at them. There is no “type of person” who is a batterer. Batterers can come from all races, religious backgrounds, and economic statuses. Often many abusers are not abusers in other relationships, so they may appear like a nice person.

8)      Victims of domestic violence are weak people. This is not true. Often times abusers use control and manipulation to bring their victim’s self-esteem down. The process can be so subtle that the victim is unaware of the mental abuse is leading up to physical abuse.

Source www.domesticviolence.org

www.domesticabuseshelter.org