Stop Domestic Violence Before It Starts

Domestic violence is a prominent issue in many American households. According to the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, one in every four women will experience domestic violence in her lifetime with 1.3 million women affected annually. Domestic violence can result in physical injury, psychological trauma or even death. And the consequences can last a lifetime, especially if abuse is witnessed by a child.

Sometimes, signs of domestic violence are obvious, like in cases of assault, battery and sexual assault. But intimidation and verbal abuse are also considered abusive behavior. Here are some possible warning signs from the National Network to End Domestic Violence on how to spot – and stop – cases of home abuse.

Jealousy: Is your partner jealous of time you spend with your family and friends? Is your partner jealous of attention you get from other people?
Controlling behavior: Does your partner make all the decisions regarding what you wear, what you eat, where you go or who you see?
Isolation: Has your partner attempted to cut you off from your friends or family? Has your partner limited your ability to use the phone or car, or prevented you from going to work or school?
Cruelty to animals or children: Has your partner hurt or threatened to hurt your pet or child?
Verbal abuse: Does your partner say cruel and hurtful things to degrade you?
Threats of violence: Has your partner threatened to harm you?
Past abusive behavior: Has your partner abused others in the past?

If you or someone you know may be a victim of domestic violence, you can find free support from the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 800-799-7233 and Amy’s Courage Fund, administered by the National Network to End Domestic Violence. For more information and ways to prevent domestic violence, check out NNEDV’s online resource guide.

January 7, 2008

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14 Comments on "Stop Domestic Violence Before It Starts"

Kamal

September 30, 2012 at 1:43 am

Unfortunately, I have nothing more than aaendotcl evidence to add to the discussion…In my youth a young woman, for reasons never fully explained, unloaded a kick in my groin at the local pool. Later she muttered something about just wanting to see what would happen.Another charming young lady slapped my face and drove my head into a door jam. (She had been provoked—in spite of our familiarity with one another, I had transgressed established boundaries with a salacious remark. Still, a stern rebuke would have been more appropriate).Later in life I spent time with a woman who had a bit of a reputation for having a bad temper. She was a hundred and ten pounds soaking wet, standing five-foot-three-inches tall. There was nothing but dynamite packed into that frame, and if someone lit that short fuse—look-out. She backed big men down with shear ferocity.Another New England beauty—tall, lean and wonderful—recounts a story of an altercation with a demure smile. She had a close call on the road with a gentleman driving a Corvette. After a near collision both she and this man pulled over, each angry at the other. She climbed out of her vehicle, ran to the driver’s side of his car and began kicking the door, cursing like a modern sailor only wishes he could curse. The Corvette driving gentleman left abruptly without further engaging the beauty.One charming conversation with a modern woman ended abruptly when she declared men were the source of all relational discord. I left, shaking my head at the shear idiocy of her declaration.There are so many more tales to tell… Still, I’m only a male, and women are quite clearly superior in nature to my brutish, unthinking masculinity. Feh.

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