The Unsettling Facts About Domestic Violence
Learn more about this important issue during domestic Violence Awareness Month.
People often think domestic violence is the act of a man hitting a woman, but it’s more complicated and involved than that. Domestic violence actually encompasses physical, sexual and emotional behaviors that make one partner in an intimate relationship feel they are being coerced, manipu- lated, embarrassed or physically harmed by their partner. Abusers use this behavior to gain power over the person they are harming, using their hurtful behavior to intimidate and achieve control. Domestic violence affects people of every race, religion, class and education level, young and old, heterosexual couples and people in the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender communities.
When is a relationship abusive?
How do people know if they are in an abusive relationship? The National Domestic Violence Hotline suggests there are red flags and warning signs. They include your partner:
· telling you that you can never do anything right
· showing jealousy of your friends and time spent away
· embarrassing or shaming you with put-downs
· controlling every penny spent in the household
· taking your money or refusing to give you money for expenses
· acting or looking at you in ways that scare you
· controlling who you see, where you go or what you do
· preventing you from making your own decisions
· telling you that you are a bad parent or threatening to harm or take away your children
· preventing you from working or attending school
· destroying your property or threatening to hurt or kill your pets
· intimidating you with guns, knives or other weapons
· pressuring you to have sex when you don’t want to or do sexual things things with which you’re not comfortable
· pressuring you to use drugs or alcohol
For more information about these and other warning signs, visit thehotline.org/is-this-abuse/abuse-defined.
If you are experiencing any of these signs, call and speak to one of the counselors at the National Domestic Hotline: 800.799.7233.
DOMESTIC VIOLENCE STATISTICS
Domesticviolencestatistics.org provides the following stats about domestic violence:
·EVERY NINE SECONDS in the United States, a woman is assaulted or beaten.
·Throughout the world, at least ONE IN EVERY THREE women has been beaten, coerced into sex or otherwise abused during her life- time. Most often, the abuser is a member of her own family.
· Domestic violence is the LEADING CAUSE OF INJURY to women, more than car accidents, muggings and rapes combined.
· Studies suggest as many as 10 MILLION children witness some form of domestic violence annually.
Nearly ONE IN FIVE teenage girls who have been in a relationship says a boyfriend threatened violence or self-harm if presented with a breakup.
· Every day in the U.S., MORE THAN THREE women are murdered by their husbands or boyfriends.
· NINETY-TWO PERCENT of women surveyed listed reducing domestic violence and sexual assault as their top concern.
· Domestic-violence victims lose nearly 8 MILLION days of paid work per year in the U.S. alone—the equivalent of 32,000 full-time jobs.
· Based on reports from 10 countries, between 55 PERCENT AND 95 PERCENT of women who had been physically abused by their partners never contacted non-governmental organizations, shelters or the police for help.
· The costs of intimate-partner violence in the U.S. alone exceed
$5.8 BILLION per year: $4.1 BILLION for direct medical and health- care services, and nearly $1.8 BILLION accounting for productivity losses.
· Men who witnessed their parents’ domestic violence as children are TWICE AS LIKELY to abuse their own wives as those of nonviolent parents.
For more information about domestic-violence statistics, visit domesticviolencestatistics.org/domestic-violence-statistics.
Where tO get helP in central texas
SafePlace Austin. SafePlace has helped women and families
in the Austin area for more than 40 years. It provides several services, including a 24-hour hotline, emergency shelter, hospital accompaniment for sexual-assault exams, counseling, legal advocacy, supportive housing, deaf services, children’s services, an onsite K-12 school, disability services, community education and programs for teens, parents and schools. safeplace.org
The Survive2Thrive Foundation. Survive2Thrive helps women who have been wait-listed and/or could not get into a shelter when they left their violent homes and situations. The website states, “Survive2Thrive wishes to remind victims of their own power and then to aid them in rebuilding their own lives, moving them from the day-to-day survival mindset to thriving in their new community of love and support.” It offers many resources, including legal, employment, child support, health care, continu- ing education, child care and more. It also offers 24/7 online counseling. survive2thrivefoundation.org
Hope Alliance Williamson County Crisis Center. This organization helps women and families in Williamson County who are experiencing physical, emotional, psychological or sexual abuse. It offers the following services: a 24-hour crisis hotline, emergency shelter, transitional housing, accompaniment services, legal advocacy, counseling, support groups, education and prevention. hopealliancetx.org
Lift: An Alliance to End Abuse. In 2011, SafePlace Austin and Austin Children’s Services formed an alliance to work toward a common goal: ending violence, abuse and neglect. According to its website, “Both SafePlace and ACS are committed to ending abuse. We recognize, and research supports, that child abuse, domestic violence and sexual assault are interconnected issues, and too often the victims/survivors experience all types of violence and abuse at different points in their lives.” Lift serves children and teens who are affected by child abuse and domestic and sexual abuse. It provides residential care, support and advocacy for survivors of sexual assault, as well as educational programs, a transitional living program for young adults and more. liftalliance.org
The National Domestic Violence Hotline: 800.799.SAFE (7233). Since 1996, the National Domestic Violence Hotline has helped survivors of domestic violence. The hotline operates 24/7, 365 days a year and “provides lifesaving tools and immediate sup- port to enable victims to find safety and live lives free of abuse.” The hotline counselors receive 40 hours of extensive training so they can offer survivors crisis-intervention information and referral services. Counseling is available in more than 170 languages. The organization also has a number for the hearing-impaired: 800.787.3224. thehotline.org
800.799.SAFE
Austin events For domestic vioLenCe AwAreness month
There are several events slated for October to mark Domestic Violence Awareness Month.
Oct. 1: the Beta launch of the Survive2Thrive foundation’s S2T Platform at the Google Fiber Headquarters. The S2T Ecosystem Platform is a 24/7, 365-days-a-year resource for survivors of domestic violence. It will be accessible from any computer, smartphone or tablet, and will provide a listing of resources ranging from how to get a protective order, to how to repair your credit. It will provide lifesaving resources for survivors who have been wait-listed when trying to get into their local shelter, and for those who need continued support after they leave the shelter.
Oct. 5: National Observance of the Day of Unity. The three themes this year are: mourning those who have died due to domestic violence, celebrating those who have survived domestic violence and connecting those who work to end domestic violence.
Oct. 7: the Lauri Wright Stand Up for Safe Families Paddle Parade 2015. The Travis County Family Violence Task Force hosts Stand Up for Safe Families Paddle Parade 2015. Supporters can show their support for victims of family violence by wearing purple and getting on the water with free kayak, paddle- board and canoe rentals on Lady Bird Lake. The event is from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m., at the Texas Rowing Center Dock, 1541 W. Cesar Chavez St.
Oct. 22: The Survive2Thrive Foundation and the Kendra Scott Gives Back Launch Their Instagram Campaign, We Are Worthy. The Survive2Thrive Foundation, in community partnership with Kendra Scott Design Inc., is creating a public-awareness campaign called We Are Worthy. Kendra Scott Design will create a special color-bar jewelry piece featuring the color of Domestic Violence Awareness Month, purple.
Courtney Santana of the Survive2Thrive Foundation says, “The color purple represents gentleness, free spiritedness, tranquility, creativity, dignity and royalty. We at S2T Foundation wish to support the survivor community, lifting them up, supporting them in what can be a very hard reality after they leave their violent homes. What does a survivor face when they leave violence? They face poverty, homelessness, financial devastation and loneliness.
We wish to focus energy, attention and love to this battered group of courageous, resilient people by marketing this jewelry line for the month of October, Domestic Violence Awareness Month.”
Oct. 22, Kendra Scott Design will donate 20 percent of the proceeds from the sales of this special color- bar piece at its domain store to the Survive2Thrive Foundation. Kendra Scott store at The Domain is located at 11506 Century Oaks, suite 108.
Oct. 25: Muse Austin Concert celebrating survivors of domestic violence. Muse Austin is a multimedia night of live music and fashion. The theme is Muse: What Inspires You? The event will include live music and fashion, featuring Austin’s Graham Wilkinson, Patrice Pike, The Levites, Riders Against the Storm, Courtney Santana, Cari Hutson St. Marie and Gina Chavez. The artists will perform original pieces with a full band and orchestra led by Carlton Dillard, music director at Riverbend Church. There will also be dance performed by Ballet Afrique and live art by Marlene Jorge, directed by Robert King. The night will unveil purple evening gowns specially designed by local designers and the students of the Art Institute of Austin. Tickets are $75 to $125, and donations and tickets are tax-deductible. Sponsorships are available and start at $500. For more information, contact Survive2Thrive Foundation at 512.308.6028, or visit museaustin.org.
Celebrating Women
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