We saw a headline recently where a recent survey conducted during Domestic Violence month reported that 98% of adults in California believe that domestic violence can happen to anyone. Statistics of all kinds back that up. Domestic violence crosses all racial, ethnic, age, religious belief, social and economic barriers. There are a wide variety of reasons why domestic violence is so under reported in the first place. Among them are shame and fear of reprisal, not just from the spouse but you can include a spouse's family. Until recently there...
Domestic violence in a relationship is about as difficult a situation to handle as any. It is fraught with hurdles. This story is about one Domestic Violence Hurdle that typifies the problems with domestic violence. It essentially talks about police involvement. "When a police officer responds to a (domestic violence) call, the first thing he or she does is to separate the people involved and try to piece together what happened. The officers then attempt to discover who the main aggressor is in the situation. Ninety-nine percent of the time,...
This is a story from a St. Louis television station that is reporting a shortage of shelter space for women because that an increase in Domestic Violence. Shelters are particularly busy in winter time and this winter has been one of the most difficult and challenging pushing people to the edge. There is no particular explanation anybody can come up with for the increase in domestic violence. There has been no increase in resources for shelters for women which causes a squeeze on space. The latest numbers show for every...
This is a story from the Blackpool Gazette in the United Kingdom about Assaults On Women. The gist of the story is that, on average, a woman will be hit or threatened by a partner 35 times before she reports it to the authorities. "Historically domestic abuse is a hidden crime. What happens within four walls, stays within four walls." The abuse does not have to be physical it can be emotional verbal or psychological abuse to have the same degrading impact. One reason that women put up with it...
Everyone knows about domestic violence as a criminal issue. But this article by Forbes magazine talks about it in a social, business and health context. Read the whole story from Forbes magazine HERE. The article makes the argument that "domestic violence reduces productivity leads to absenteeism and drives up health care costs" costing an estimated $8.3 billion was higher medical expenses and lost productivity. "Nearly a quarter of employed women report that domestic violence has affected their work performance at some point in their lives. Each year, an estimated 8...
This is a story and video about Domestic Violence and how domestic violence cases are on the rise in Springfield, Missouri. It describes the victim was in abusive marriage for 12 years and didn't recognize how dangerous it was. Police and community officials are trying to address this issue throughout the city and state. The number and severity of domestic violence cases has risen dramatically since 2012. We don't know whether that is because there is an increase in reporting or whether the actual number of cases has increased. Either...
This is a story about Domestic Violence specifically in an area south west of Colorado Springs in the mountains. Domestic violence, in the Colorado Domestic Violence Benchbook, is defined as “one partner’s effort to control the other partner using a variety of tactics that may involve both criminal or non-criminal acts.” Such acts can include assault, arson, murder, burglary, kidnapping, threats and stalking. Domestic violence behaviors include verbal harassment or criminal mischief, for example when a suspect tears up a house or destroys property. “Ninety-five percent of domestic violence cases...
"The life of a teen is hard enough without adding an abusive relationship into the equation. But that’s the situation an estimated 1 in 3 teenagers will find themselves in during these life-shaping years." February has been designated teen dating violence month in an effort to draw attention to a growing problem that teens themselves do not necessarily recognize because not all abusive relationships involve a component of physical harm Because of all the social media, cell phones and everything is much more difficult for teens to get away from...