Domestic Violence - "A Quiet Crisis"
I recently watched news correspondent Diane Sawyer’s interview with singer Robyn “Rihanna” Fenty on the ABC network’s 20/20 primetime television show. Sawyer interviewed Rihanna about an incident that occurred with the R&B singer’s former boyfriend and fellow entertainment mogul Chris Brown. The incident involving Brown and Rihanna caused a media swarm over the couple’s relationship. Brown brutally assaulted Rihanna earlier this year after the couple had an argument. The pictures of Rihanna’s swollen face after the attack point out the devastating effects of domestic violence. Although the incident involving Rihanna and Brown was awful, I think it can shed much needed light on an extremely challenging and prevalent social issue.
Domestic violence is a horrible stain that occurs within our society. Collectively, those who stand against domestic violence can be advocates against abusive relationships. Domestic violence is preventable. However, the ramifications of domestic violence can last for a lifetime. Through legislative acts and social advocacy the United States has made progress in combating domestic violence. Nonetheless, the problem of domestic abuse still exists.
Last month marked the 23rd annual recognition of Domestic Violence Awareness Month. Since 1987, the month of October has been observed as National Domestic Violence Awareness Month. The awareness month originated in October 1981 when the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence (NCADV) observed it’s first “Day of Unity.” The day brought together battered women’s advocates from across the country who sought to end violence against women and children, according to the NCADV website. Also in 1987, the nation’s first free domestic violence telephone hotline was created.
In 1994, then Senator Joe Biden (D-Delaware) was the lead advocate for the passage of the Violence Against Women Act. This legislative act was passed and thus improved the nation’s reaction to violent crimes against victims of domestic violence.
Domestic violence, which is commonly referred to as intimate partner violence (IPV), is a social problem that affects people of all ages, educational backgrounds, genders, races, and socioeconomic groups. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website states that intimate partner violence includes four types of violence: physical violence, sexual violence, threats of physical or sexual violence, and emotional abuse. In order to combat domestic violence, the CDC maintains that a key strategy is to promote “respectful, nonviolent intimate partner relationships through individual, community, and societal level change.”
According to the American College of Emergency Physicians, each year in the United States, women experience 4.8 million intimate partner related physical assaults and rapes. Men are the victims of about 2.9 million intimate partner related physical assaults. Physical violence also causes economic problems. The cost of intimate partner rape, physical assault, and stalking is estimated to be $8.3 billion dollars per year for direct medical and mental health care services and lost paid employment or household productivity. In the United States, domestic violence is the leading cause of injury to women between the ages of 15 and 44. Each year in the U.S., between 2 and 4 million women are the victims of battery, according to research from the American College of Emergency Physicians.
In his proclamation for National Domestic Violence Awareness Month on October 2, 2002, President George W. Bush said the following: “Domestic violence in America is intolerable and must be stopped. According to the 2000 National Crime Victimization Survey, almost 700,000 incidents of violence between partners were documented in our Nation, and thousands more go unreported. And in the past quarter century, almost 57,000 Americans were murdered by a partner.”
On October 1, 2009, President Barack Obama delivered a speech about the effects that domestic violence has on communities and what his administration is trying to do about the problem. He said: “Domestic violence touches the lives of Americans of all ages, leaving a devastating impact on women, men, and children of every background and circumstance… Still, far too many women and families in this country and around the world are affected by domestic violence.” In his proclamation speech President Obama also noted that the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, which was signed on February 17, 2009, provides $325 million dollars for the Violence Against Women Act and the Victims of Crime Act. In his statement, President Obama referred to domestic violence as a “quiet crisis.”
Boston Globe columnist Adrian Walker wrote a column in the October 13, 2009 edition of the Globe titled “After abuse, a life renewed.” Walker’s column was about Nadine Walker Mooney – who is a survivor of domestic violence. In the column, Walker interviewed Dan Walsh, CEO of the ROSE Fund – a Boston non-profit organization that seeks to help victims of domestic violence. Walsh speaks of the “quiet crisis” that President Obama mentioned in his proclamation. Walsh says: “I believe that domestic violence is an issue that is where breast cancer was 15 years ago. It’s an issue that most people know little about. And it’s an issue where much of the impact can be dealt with if you learn the signs and intervene early.”
Physical violence against some of society’s most vulnerable citizens should not be overlooked. Child abuse and elder abuse are also common occurrences. It is estimated that between one and two million Americans aged 65 and older have been injured, exploited, or mistreated by someone whom they depended on for care and protection. The statistics for child abuse are even more startling. Child abuse can occur in families of all educational and socioeconomic levels, ethnic/racial backgrounds, and religious denominations. Approximately three million cases of child abuse are reported each year in the U.S. The rate of child abuse is estimated to be three times greater than what is actually reported, according to the American College of Emergency Physicians. Most child abuse victims are new born babies until the age of three-years-old.
According to the Family Violence Prevention Fund & the American College of Emergency Physicians:
Domestic violence is a horrible stain that occurs within our society. Collectively, those who stand against domestic violence can be advocates against abusive relationships. Domestic violence is preventable. However, the ramifications of domestic violence can last for a lifetime. Through legislative acts and social advocacy the United States has made progress in combating domestic violence. Nonetheless, the problem of domestic abuse still exists.
Last month marked the 23rd annual recognition of Domestic Violence Awareness Month. Since 1987, the month of October has been observed as National Domestic Violence Awareness Month. The awareness month originated in October 1981 when the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence (NCADV) observed it’s first “Day of Unity.” The day brought together battered women’s advocates from across the country who sought to end violence against women and children, according to the NCADV website. Also in 1987, the nation’s first free domestic violence telephone hotline was created.
In 1994, then Senator Joe Biden (D-Delaware) was the lead advocate for the passage of the Violence Against Women Act. This legislative act was passed and thus improved the nation’s reaction to violent crimes against victims of domestic violence.
Domestic violence, which is commonly referred to as intimate partner violence (IPV), is a social problem that affects people of all ages, educational backgrounds, genders, races, and socioeconomic groups. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website states that intimate partner violence includes four types of violence: physical violence, sexual violence, threats of physical or sexual violence, and emotional abuse. In order to combat domestic violence, the CDC maintains that a key strategy is to promote “respectful, nonviolent intimate partner relationships through individual, community, and societal level change.”
According to the American College of Emergency Physicians, each year in the United States, women experience 4.8 million intimate partner related physical assaults and rapes. Men are the victims of about 2.9 million intimate partner related physical assaults. Physical violence also causes economic problems. The cost of intimate partner rape, physical assault, and stalking is estimated to be $8.3 billion dollars per year for direct medical and mental health care services and lost paid employment or household productivity. In the United States, domestic violence is the leading cause of injury to women between the ages of 15 and 44. Each year in the U.S., between 2 and 4 million women are the victims of battery, according to research from the American College of Emergency Physicians.
In his proclamation for National Domestic Violence Awareness Month on October 2, 2002, President George W. Bush said the following: “Domestic violence in America is intolerable and must be stopped. According to the 2000 National Crime Victimization Survey, almost 700,000 incidents of violence between partners were documented in our Nation, and thousands more go unreported. And in the past quarter century, almost 57,000 Americans were murdered by a partner.”
On October 1, 2009, President Barack Obama delivered a speech about the effects that domestic violence has on communities and what his administration is trying to do about the problem. He said: “Domestic violence touches the lives of Americans of all ages, leaving a devastating impact on women, men, and children of every background and circumstance… Still, far too many women and families in this country and around the world are affected by domestic violence.” In his proclamation speech President Obama also noted that the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, which was signed on February 17, 2009, provides $325 million dollars for the Violence Against Women Act and the Victims of Crime Act. In his statement, President Obama referred to domestic violence as a “quiet crisis.”
Boston Globe columnist Adrian Walker wrote a column in the October 13, 2009 edition of the Globe titled “After abuse, a life renewed.” Walker’s column was about Nadine Walker Mooney – who is a survivor of domestic violence. In the column, Walker interviewed Dan Walsh, CEO of the ROSE Fund – a Boston non-profit organization that seeks to help victims of domestic violence. Walsh speaks of the “quiet crisis” that President Obama mentioned in his proclamation. Walsh says: “I believe that domestic violence is an issue that is where breast cancer was 15 years ago. It’s an issue that most people know little about. And it’s an issue where much of the impact can be dealt with if you learn the signs and intervene early.”
Physical violence against some of society’s most vulnerable citizens should not be overlooked. Child abuse and elder abuse are also common occurrences. It is estimated that between one and two million Americans aged 65 and older have been injured, exploited, or mistreated by someone whom they depended on for care and protection. The statistics for child abuse are even more startling. Child abuse can occur in families of all educational and socioeconomic levels, ethnic/racial backgrounds, and religious denominations. Approximately three million cases of child abuse are reported each year in the U.S. The rate of child abuse is estimated to be three times greater than what is actually reported, according to the American College of Emergency Physicians. Most child abuse victims are new born babies until the age of three-years-old.
According to the Family Violence Prevention Fund & the American College of Emergency Physicians:
- On average more than three women a day are murdered by their husbands or boyfriends in United States.
- 15.5 million children in the U.S. live in families in which partner violence occurred at least once in the past year; and 7 million children live in families in which severe partner violence occurred.
- American Indian and Alaska Native women experience the highest rates of intimate partner violence.
- The United Nations Development Fund for Women estimates that at least one in every three women globally will be beaten, raped, or otherwise abused during their lifetime. In most cases the abuser is a member of the woman’s own family.
- In the U.S. four children die per day as a result of child abuse.
- A National Violence Against Women survey found that 22.1% of women and 7.4% of men experienced physical forms of intimate partner violence at some point in their lives.
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