October is National Domestic Violence Awareness Month – why is this such a big deal? Because you can’t solve a problem you don’t know about. So often, we minimize a problem that we don’t have. We think it is less prevalent and not as relevant as other issues that our society faces. But domestic violence IS a big deal. Why?
*Because 1 in 4 women and 1 in 7 men experience SEVERE intimate partner violence in their lifetime. (Beating, burning, strangling, etc. Think about the people in your life – your co-workers, family members, church family, etc. – how many of them are being abused?)
*Because about 24 people are physically abused, raped, or stalked by an intimate partner in the U.S. EVERY MINUTE. That’s 12 MILLION people – men and women – per year.
*Because if we eliminated domestic violence our overall violent crime rate would go down 15%!
*Because domestic violence leads to almost 8 MILLION lost days of paid work each year – that’s about 32,000 full-time jobs!
*Because the violence bleeds over into other people’s lives – 20% of intimate partner victims are actually family members, friends, neighbors, and law enforcement that tried to step in to help.
*Because in the U.S., more than 5 MILLION children are exposed to intimate partner violence every year. 1 in 3 of those children are also being abused.
*Because these children that witness violence are THREE TIMES more likely than their peer to be violent.
*Because in any one day in the U.S. over 13,000 children are living in a domestic violence shelter or transitional housing.
*Because 63% of boys arrested for homicide, ages 11 – 20, killed their mother’s abuser.
*Because far too many women and men are being abused and don’t realize it. They think that being hit, pushed, punched, screamed at, etc. is ‘normal’.
*Because our children are extremely likely to repeat the cycle of abuse without intervention.
*Because we can do better.
For help breaking the cycle of violence in your family, call 1-888-554-2501 anytime, day or night. We can provide a ‘safe place’ to escape the violence as well as a wealth of resources and information. Our Conway County number is 501-354-1884. For help in Perry County, call 501-889-2030 (Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. through 5 p.m.)
https://assets.speakcdn.com/assets/2497/children_and_dv.pdf
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