october is domestic violence awareness month--some quotes and images and information

[niyad]

https://www.pinterest.com/explore/domestic-violence-quotes/

http://www.goodreads.com/quotes/tag/domestic-violence


AN ACT OF DOMESTIC ABUSE OCCURS EVERY 12 SECONDS IN THE U.S.

According to former Attorney General Janet Reno, “Too many American women live in fear of the very people upon whom they depend for love and affection. Instead of providing refuge, the walls of many homes serve as prison bars.”

WHAT IS DOMESTIC ABUSE?

Domestic abuse, or “battering”, is a pattern of abuse by one partner against the other, for the purpose of maintaining power and control. Domestic abuse often includes (but NOT ALWAYS) physical abuse. Forms of domestic abuse can include:
— physical abuse
— sexual abuse
— verbal abuse
— threats and intimidation
— isolation or restriction from friends, family and other support systems
— destruction of property
— financial exploitation
— jealousy and possessiveness
— stalking or monitoring of behavior

. . . .

http://www.downstate.edu/eap/october.html

[sheshe2]

1. Sad that no one cares all that much. eom

[niyad]

2. yes, it certainly is

[sheshe2]

3. Yup

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10028206269

Domestic Violence Charity Creates Intentionally Offensive PSA (NSFW)

[niyad]

4. thank you!!!

[sheshe2]

5. Fuck DV!

You are welcome, niyad.

[sheshe2]

6. And

Abusive relationships manifest when a woman’s internal environment of low self-esteem meets an abuser’s external environment of continuous negative reinforcement. Women with low self-esteem magnify their faults to gigantic proportions while simultaneously disregarding all of the good things about themselves – the exact same thing that the abuser does. The external conditions reinforce the victim’s internal beliefs. She becomes trapped in a state of learned helplessness as her self-image gradually atrophies.

The decision to leave an abusive relationship is not easy, even after a powerful “fuck this” moment. It is NOT simply a case of “well, if he treats her so badly, why doesn’t she just leave?” Making the decision to leave requires tremendous inner strength and courage, as she is making this decision against nearly insurmountable odds. On top of the paralytic state of learned helplessness and the same feelings of loss that everyone feels at the end of a relationship (which are magnified in the unhealthy co-dependence of an abuser-victim relationship), abusers routinely threaten to hunt down and kill victims if they try to escape. They may threaten hurt or kill a victim’s family members, friends, or children. They may threaten to take custody of the victim’s children. On top of this, the victims often have no money and no support network, as the abuser has severed their ties to the world outside of the relationship. These women are stuck in a torturous cycle of being being raped, beaten, burnt, forced to do drugs, and slashed with knives, believing that there is no way out other than to risk their abuser inflicting pain and possibly death upon themselves and everyone they love. It takes the type of courage that most people have never had to summon in their entire lives to leave an established abusive relationship, no matter what the cost.

Don’t think that domestic violence can’t happen to you or that you don’t know anyone that is being or has been abused. You do. Domestic violence is very common, but is still surrounded by such a social taboo that it is not discussed openly. Think about how many women you know personally, then consider that statistically, one in every four of those women has experienced some form of domestic violence in her lifetime. If you want to avoid becoming a statistic yourself, one of the best things you can do is to hold yourself in high regard. Make sure you have high self-esteem and high standards that you will hold yourself and your partner to before you even consider starting a relationship. Your relationship standard should never be, “well, he puts me down and calls me names and embarrasses me in front of my friends and family, but he doesn’t hit me so it’s okay”. NO! Your standard should be “I absolutely refuse to tolerate anyone in my life who doesn’t treat me with the utmost respect, love, honesty, and kindness. I deserve the BEST, and anyone who gives me less than that can take a long walk off a short pier!”

Ladies – please don’t wait for an abuse-induced “fuck this” moment before you start to realise your self-worth. You absolutely do NOT have to tolerate men treating you badly. There are plenty of good men out there who would be honoured to date you and treat you with the love and respect you deserve. Have your “fuck this” moment right now. Dump the losers who don’t respect you and hold out for one of the great men who will.

More: http://www.climbtherainbow.com/2011/12/the-fuck-this-moment-in-abusive-relationships/

_______________________________

In the end...you all can do it on your own ladies. Yes, you can.

[niyad]

10. thank you so much!!

[niyad]

14. would you please post this as its own op for needed visibility?

[sheshe2]

15. I will.

[sheshe2]

17. Here

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10028212528

[mythology]

7. We need to invest far more resources into not just helping victims of domestic abuse escape

but we also need to invest in educating people (particularly men) that committing domestic violence in any of its forms isn't acceptable. That education needs to start early in life to make sure kids who might otherwise grow up seeing abuse and becoming used to it, have a better chance of not repeating the pattern.

[niyad]

11. you are absolutely correct

[canetoad]

8. Spreading the word

Rosie Batty knows pain no woman should have to suffer. Her son was killed by his father in a violent incident in February 2014, a horrendous event that shocked not only the nation, but the world. Greg Anderson murdered his 11-year-old son Luke and was then shot by police at the Tyabb cricket oval. Rosie had suffered years of family violence, and had had intervention and custody orders in place in an effort to protect herself and her son. She believes the killing was Greg’s final act of control over her.

Since that event, Rosie has become an outspoken crusader against domestic violence, winning hearts and minds all over Australia with her compassion, courage, grace and forgiveness. In the wake of the tragedy, Rosie’s advocacy work has forced an unprecedented national focus on family violence, with the Victorian Labor government establishing Australia’s first royal commission into family violence, and committing a further $30 million over four years to protect women and children at high risk of family violence. The then Victorian Police Commissioner Ken Lay called it ‘the Rosie Batty factor’. In January 2015, Rosie was named Australian of the Year.

http://lukebattyfoundation.org.au/

--------------

Despite her grief, Rosie became a tireless anti-violence worker and advocate. She has prompted changes in law and attitude right up to the highest levels of community, police and government.

[niyad]

13. thank you for this. would you please make it its own op--for visibility for this important topic?

[canetoad]

16. If you don't mind

I'd rather not. I agree it is an important topic, but this is not current news and is not in the US. I believe it is an appropriate addition to a thread on DV and the link is there if anyone wishes to read more about Rosie Batty. Thanks for your interest in the comment.

[brer cat]

9. Thank you, niyad.

It is so hard to get people to even look, much less see and understand DV. Public awareness and empathy is essential to getting people out of these nightmare relationships.

K&R

[niyad]

12. the low level of interest even here on du is disheartening, to say the least.