Browsing: Abuse

Next to 911, the most important number you can have on hand is the domestic violence hotline. Don’t think you’ll ever need it? Consider this fact: one out of every four women in the U.S. personally encounters domestic violence in their lifetime. That’s a whopping 25% of all women. And men, you’re not immune either. At least one in nine men are victims of domestic abuse. Thankfully, there’s plenty of help available in dealing with the national domestic violence problem.

The long-term effects of domestic violence are far-reaching and often devastating for victims – most often women and children. Women and children, who live in an environment where domestic violence commonly occurs, face increased risks because of the tumultuous atmosphere in their lives. Women may develop an impaired ability to nurture their children and contribute to their positive development. Children, whether victims themselves or just witnesses, may withdraw from their parental relationship, suffer seriously delayed or distorted development, and emotional problems.

Domestic violence victims come from every socioeconomic background, education level, religion, ethnic group, marital status, and sexual orientation. However, some people have risk factors that make them more likely to become victims of domestic abuse. Although both men (Male Victims of Domestic Abuse) and women can suffer at the hand of an abuser, the U.S. Department of Justice reports that fully 95 percent of victims of domestic violence are women.

Research points to many causes of domestic violence, but all of these causes and risk factors have one underlying commonality: the abuser feels the need to exert complete control over his or her partner. Some studies indicate that a cause of domestic violence stems from an intersection of both environmental and individual factors. Essentially, this means that abusers learn to use abusive tactics to control others from the influence of family members, people around them, and cultural traditions as they grow from children to adults.

Learning to recognize the signs of domestic violence represents the first step toward getting help for yourself or someone you know. Every relationship has its challenges and the majority of couples argue once in a while, but domestic abuse goes beyond the typical problems of those in intimate relationships. You can learn to recognize abusive patterns in relationships by familiarizing yourself with the warning signs of domestic abuse.

Many types of domestic violence (domestic abuse) exist; each with devastating effects on those involved, including even mere witnesses of the violence. Characterized by a pattern of dominance and control in an intimate relationship, all types of domestic abuse occurs in every imaginable societal and cultural sector. Whether you’re rich or poor, male (domestic violence against men) or female, straight or gay, black, white or somewhere in-between – you, or someone you know, has likely been touched by the ripple effects of one of the types domestic abuse. People just like you—from all across the cultural spectrum—can find themselves at risk of sliding into the dangerous cycle of violence in the home.

Better-defined domestic violence laws were a result of an increase in reports of domestic violence cases in the 1980s. Public news reports of domestic violence charges involving celebrities resulted in a heightened awareness of domestic abuse and associated social and legal issues. The high profile and celebrity involvement in the tragic OJ Simpson case fed the American public’s insatiable appetite for sensational celebrity gossip.

Domestic violence occurs when one partner exerts control over the other while dating, during marriage, or cohabitation. Domestic abuse involves injuring someone, such as a spouse, partner, or other family members within the domestic setting. The injuries caused by domestic violence can be either physical or emotional and the effects of domestic abuse often result in lifelong issues long after the victim has left the abusive environment.

The silent treatment is something that most people know about if, for no other reason, it comes up on the playground and in sitcoms repeatedly. The silent treatment, sometimes called “the cold shoulder,” is the purposeful exclusion of one party from social interactions. In other words, when a person gives you the silent treatment they act is if you aren’t even there. The silent treatment is so named because the person will not talk to you but, in reality, the person may avoid all interaction with you including being in the same room.

Gaslighting is a form of emotional abuse where the abuser manipulates situations repeatedly to trick the victim into distrusting his or her own memory and perceptions. Gaslighting is an insidious form of abuse. It makes victims question the very instincts that they have counted on their whole lives, making them unsure of anything. Gaslighting makes it very likely that victims will believe whatever their abusers tell them regardless as to their own experience of the situation. Gaslighting often precedes other types of emotional and physical abuse because the victim of gaslighting is more likely to remain in other abusive situations as well.