Domestic Violence Awareness Month

Domestic violence can often be misunderstood but it is preventable and there are steps you can take to protect yourself and others. One of the first steps you can take is to educate yourself.  Below are some definitions, statistics, and signs to look out for to better help yourself and loved ones.

Definitions

  • Domestic Violence – Is characterized by a pattern of behaviors used by one partner to maintain power and control over another partner in an intimate relationship. 
  • Emotional and Verbal Abuse – This includes insults and attempts to scare, isolate, or control victims.
  • Physical Assault/Abuse – This includes hitting, beating, punching, pushing, kicking and can include attacks with weapons.
  • Financial Abuse – This occurs when an abuser has control over all finances in a relation and withholds money from the victim.
  • Elder Abuse – This is any type of abuse (physical, sexual, emotional, verbal, and financial), against an older person that can happen at home, in a nursing home, assisted living facility, or in public.
  • Sexual Assault – This is any type of sexual activity or contact that you do not consent to.  This can happen through physical force, threats of force, or drugging of victims.
  • Rape – This is sexual assault that includes sexual penetration, no matter how slight, without consent.

Prevalence and Statistics

According to the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence:

  • 1 in 3 women and 1 in 4 men have experienced some form of physical violence by an intimate partner.
  • 1 in 4 women and 1 in 7 men have been victims of severe physical violence by an intimate partner in their lifetime.
  • Domestic violence is most common among women between the ages of 18-24.
  • 1 in 15 children are exposed to intimate partner violence each year, and 90% of these children are eyewitnesses to this violence.
  • Domestic victimization is correlated with a higher rate of depression and suicidal behavior.

Recognizing the Signs

Women Helping Women list these as the most common warning signs of domestic violence:

  • Attempts to control you
  • Extreme jealousy or accuses you of cheating
  • Expects you to check-in all the time (or calls and/or texts you constantly)
  • Embarrasses you or puts you down (shares inappropriate information about you)
  • Makes you feel like you don’t have a right to say no
  • Isolates you from family or friends
  • Pressures, threatens, or forces unwanted sexual activity
  • Scares you by acting violently, yelling, breaking or throwing things, hitting and/or kicking

If you experience partner violence, please know that you are not alone. The National Domestic Violence Hotline is 800-799-7233. If you’d like to reach out to Tabono, you can reach us at 513-846-5283 or through our contact page.

References:

About gender-based violence. Women Helping Women. (2017, June 29). Retrieved September 30, 2022

Emotional and verbal abuse. Emotional and verbal abuse | Office on Women’s Health. (n.d.). Retrieved September 30, 2022

NCADV: National Coalition Against Domestic Violence. The Nation’s Leading Grassroots Voice on Domestic Violence. (n.d.). Retrieved September 30, 2022

Understand relationship abuse. The Hotline. (2022, February 3). Retrieved September 30, 2022

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