History
In October of 1981, a “Day of Unity” was held to connect advocates working to end violence against women and their children. It soon became an entire week full of activities that included mourning people who have died because of domestic violence, celebrating those who survived, and connecting advocates. It wasn’t until October of 1987 that the first Domestic Violence Awareness Month (DVAM) was observed and the first national domestic violence toll-free hotline was created. Then in 1989, the U.S. Congress passed the Public Law 101-112 designating October of that year as Domestic Violence Awareness Mont.
What is Domestic Violence?
Domestic violence is an issue that is defined as “a pattern of coercive, controlling behavior that is a pervasive life-threatening crime affecting people in all our communities regardless of gender, age, sexual orientation, race, ethnicity, religion, social standing and immigration status” by The Center of Family Justice. It can take many forms, some of which include: physical abuse, emotional abuse, economic abuse, stalking, harassment, and sexual abuse. Domestic Violence affects millions of people, including both women and men. According to the National Domestic Violence Hotline, “it’s not always easy to tell at the beginning of a relationship if it will become abusive.” Oftentimes, this is because the partner appears like a perfect match at the beginning of the relationship, but slowly starts showing their true colors in the form of abuse.
Forms of Domestic Violence:
Physical Abuse
Physical abuse involves physical harm towards one and/or their loved ones and includes: scratching, biting, grabbing or spitting; shoving and pushing; slapping and punching; throwing objects to hurt or intimidate you; destroying possessions; hurting you; strangling; attacking with a weapon; and making any threats or actual attempts to kill you.
Emotional Abuse/Psychological Abuse
In emotional abuse, your partner behaves a certain way in an effort to control and/or damage your emotional well-being. It can be either verbal or non-verbal and may include: name-calling, mocking, intimidation; humiliation; yelling in your face; manipulating; ordering you around; belittling you; twisting your words to make you look bad in front of others; saying negative things about your friends and family and limiting your interaction with them; cheating or being overly jealous; blaming you or others for their abusive behavior; and monitoring you.
Economic/Financial Abuse
In economic abuse, the abuser makes the victim entirely financially dependent on the abuser, with no power or say in the relationship. It can include: sabotaging education and employment opportunities; jeopardizing employment by stalking or harassing the victim at the workplace; doing what they can to prevent the victim from going to work; withholding money or giving an allowance; denying access to bank accounts; hiding family assets; and putting the victim in debt.
Stalking and Harassment
Stalking and harassment can occur between strangers or those in relationships, where the abusive partner/ex demands your time even after you make it clear you do not want contact. It includes: making unwanted visits or sending you unwanted messages; following you, including installing GPS tracking software on your car or cell phone without your knowledge or consent; checking up on you constantly; embarrassing you in public; and refusing to leave when asked.
Sexual Abuse
Sexual abuse includes: rape, sexual child abuse, incest, fondling, attempted rape, human trafficking, sexual harassment, or any other type of unwanted sexual contact. Additionally, domestic violence can include sexual coercion, which involves the victim being persuaded, forced, or made to feel obligated to have contact. It can also include reproductive coercion, which involves one partner stripping the other’s ability to control their own reproductive system and can also come in the form of pressure, guilt, or shame from the abusive partner.
These are the most common types of domestic violence, though that does not mean there are more types of abuse, such as when the perpetrator abuses the victim’s children. These forms can occur simultaneously, and are not just restricted to those in a relationship.
Statistics:
On average, nearly 20 people per minute are physically abused by an intimate partner in the United States.
1 in 3 women and 1 in 4 men have experienced some form of physical violence by an intimate partner.
On a typical day, there are more than 20,000 phone calls placed to domestic violence hotlines nationwide.
1 in 15 children are exposed to intimate partner violence each year, and 90% of these children are eyewitnesses to this violence.
72% of all murder-suicides involve an intimate partner; 94% of the victims of these murder suicides are female.
60.8% of 19.3 million females and 43.5% of the 5.1 million men that have been stalked in their lifetime reported being stalked by a current or former intimate partner.
The presence of a gun in a domestic violence situation increases the risk of homicide by 500%.
Studies suggest that there is a relationship between intimate partner violence and depression and suicidal behavior.
If you would like to see some statistics on domestic violence, feel free to access this link.
Raising Awareness
Raising awareness of domestic violence is extremely significant in order to show support for those who are fighting abuse within their relationships. Some ways of raising awareness for domestic violence include donating to a local domestic violence shelter, posting the National Domestic Violence Hotline (1-800-799-7233) on social media, and making sure you know your Title lX protections. You can also start a campaign to raise awareness for it, if you would like.
Sources
“Abuse Defined.” The National Domestic Violence Hotline, www.thehotline.org/is-this-abuse/abuse-defined/.
“NCADV: National Coalition Against Domestic Violence.” The Nation's Leading Grassroots Voice on Domestic Violence, ncadv.org/statistics.
“SAFETY ALERT:” Dvam History | Domestic Violence Awareness Project (DVAP), nrcdv.org/dvam/DVAM-history.
Vangen, Mari VangenMari, and Feminist Majority Foundation. “Home.” Feminist Campus, 30 Sept. 2015, feministcampus.org/5-ways-to-participate-in-domestic-violence-awareness-month/.
“What Is Domestic Abuse: Domestic Violence Definition.” Center for Family Justice, centerforfamilyjustice.org/faq/domestic-violence/.
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