Understanding the impact of domestic violence can be crucial to a parent’s visitation rights with their child. Unfortunately, domestic violence is a pervasive matter. This transcends socio-economic status and profoundly impacts families, especially when children are involved. When domestic violence occurs, child visitation becomes a complicated and emotionally charged debate. Together with the help of […]
Domestic violence is a problem that impacts more people than you may know. On average, 20 people per minute are physically abused by their partner in the United States. This can equal as many as 10 million people per year. Unfortunately, there are many myths that still surround domestic violence, and learning the truth may […]
Amelia recently sent me a link to a Tumblr that will absolutely gut you. It’s called When Women Refuse and it collects news article about women who became victims of violence after they tried to leave a male partner or rejected sexual advances. We know that violence is fundamentally about control and therefore the most dangerous time during an abusive […]
Years ago, when I was about, oh, a year into my relationship with my now ex, he and I got in a fight (over what, who knows), I lost my temper, and I started hitting him. Not in the face, but on his arms, my fists balled up. I think I shoved him a few […]
I’ve been married for four years and during that time, there have been three physical fights where my husband has hurt me. I’ve stayed with him because he’s been “my person” for seven years. The person who knows everything about me … and why I do the things I do or like the things I […]
On Friday night I was on my way back to my apartment, late at night, with a couple of friends in tow. I live in a really hoppin’ area so there were tons of people on the streets. Suddenly, I overheard a guy screaming at a woman, who was wedged into a corner near a […]
The first thing anyone asks a battered woman is, “why did you put up with that?” Domestic violence is the only crime I can think of—well, besides rape—where the victim is treated as complicit in her own abuse. This is why I rarely talk about my two-year relationship with a batterer. I wasn’t a housewife […]
Yesterday, two of the other lady blogs wrestled over the politics of asking victims of domestic violence why they stayed with their abusers. Are you a bad feminist if you ask someone—say, someone like me—why she stayed with the guy who beat the crap out of her, nearly murdered her, and raped her on a […]
“Why does she stay?” is the question most often asked when we hear about someone involved in an abusive relationship. Unfortunately, it’s also one of the least helpful things you can say to a woman caught up in this cycle. So what can we do to help when we suspect a friend is being battered? […]
