What is Domestic Violence??

Good Evening All, today I want to discuss domestic violence. It is an issue that has been going on since the beginning of man-kind. In a lot of cultures it is considered a norm, but it is not normal for one person to hurt another. Let's start by answering: What is domestic violence? I am giving you a link to the agency I once worked for as an advocate so you know what is considered domestic violence. Thanks to ICADV for the following information:

http://www.icadvinc.org/what-is-domestic-violence/

Domestic violence occurs every seven seconds...someone somewhere is being abused. Abuse can be sexual, physical or emotional. Being an advocate myself, I have worked directly with victims of domestic violence, sexual abuse, human trafficking and stalking. These are women just like you and I. In some cultures, abuse is considered a norm...women can be women's worst enemy most of the time. Let's take Indian culture for an example, a situation of a girl I knew that married a US citizen. She got married, left her family in India to become a part of a new family. She goes into this new family with dreams in her eyes of a happy loving life. Few months pass and she experiences a whole different side of this family. The mother-in-law is controlling her every move. If things do not go the way mother-in-law says, then she gets emotionally abused. Then the mother-in-law gets her son, the husband of this girl, involved. She tells him how awful this girl is... this again is just because of control issue. So now her husband, who is a mommy's boy, believes everything mom has to say and then starts physical abuse. Days go by and she is abused every second between the husband and the mother-in-law. She is putting up with this abuse because she doesn't know her rights as a woman in the US. She is afraid of what people will say if she tells anyone and she is afraid to lose the only security she has in the US. It is not easy for a woman to walk out and ask for help. When she is told by friends to leave, she makes excuses for their behavior because she still loves the man she was married to... because as a young girl she was told that once you get married the only way for you to leave your husband is when you die. She tries to live by what she was taught. A lot of women that come to the US from other countries are afraid to ask for help from authorities because in some countries the authorities are corrupt. This was the case in this girl's situation. The best way to tackle this issue is awareness. We all need to get together and educate people and tell them they have rights too. Listen and be there for these victim's and do not make decisions for them. For once, let them make their own decision because decisions have always been made for them. The best gift you can give these women is to educate them of their rights and tell their there is hope. Help them think positive. Helping a victim become a survivor can be so rewarding... Let's get together and put a STOP to domestic violence!!

I read this on Facebook yesterday and really touched me: “People think that the most painful thing in life is losing the one you value, the truth is, the most painful thing is losing yourself in the process of valuing someone too much and forgetting that you are special too.”