(Toledo News Now) - October: Domestic Violence Awareness Month
Please join us in supporting Domestic Violence Awareness!
Domestic violence should not happen to anybody. Ever. Period. But it does - and when it does, there is help. Maybe you have lived with abuse, maybe it happened just once; maybe you work or live next to someone who is being abused right now. Whoever you are, this is how and where to get help.
Domestic Violence is most often one of the following:
• Domestic Abuse -- click here
• Teen Dating Abuse -- click here
• Elder Abuse -- click here
Forms of Domestic Violence:
Emotional/Psychological Abuse…it affects victim's sense of self and of reality. It is typically manifested as verbal and behavioral abuse.
Emotional /Psychological abuse includes:
• ignoring the victim's feelings
• withholding approval as a form of punishment
• putting down the victim's abilities as a parent, lover, worker
• telling the victim about own sexual affairs
• jealousy.
• demanding all the victim's attention
• creating and maintaining economic dependency
• withholding money
• isolating from social contacts
• humiliation in front of family members, others
• blaming the victim for own misfortunes and mistakes
• yelling
• hostile jokes about the victim's gender
• insults
• threats of physical violence and retaliation, of abuse of children or of getting custody of children
Physical abuse…begins with relatively minor assaults and grows more violent and targeted with repetition. It sometimes involves denying medical treatment for injuries or wounds resulting from abuse.
Physical abuse includes:
• pinching
• squeezing
• pushing
• shoving
• jerking
• pulling
• shaking
• slapping
• biting
• hitting
• punching
• kicking
• choking
• strangling
• using objects to perpetrate violence
• using weapons (brass knuckles, knives, guns)
Sexual abuse...is the use of emotional, psychological and physical violence in sexual relations.
Sexual abuse includes:
• forcing sexual contact
• forcing intercourse
• using blackmail in sexual relations
• using sex as a reward or punishment
• rape, including between spouses
Social conditions of abuse...create an environment where abuse can take place more easily than if these conditions did not exist. These conditions include:
• rigid gender roles.
• popular myths: Cinderella vs. Prince Charming, white wedding, Beauty and the Beast.
• gender-based economic dependency.
• gender-based glass ceiling.
• objectification: "lookism", pornography.
What you can do if you are a:
• Victim - Learn more here
• Abuser - Learn more here
• Survivor - Learn more here
• Family or friend of a victim - Learn more here
Resource Guides:
• YWCA
• Ohio Domestic Violence Network
• Bethenny House
• The Hotline
