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"He said he Loved me"
"She was just having a bad
day and felt like hitting something"
"He would never hurt me on
purpose"
"It was my fault, I didn't
fold her clothes the way she likes"
"It was my fault for getting
drunk that fast he didn't take advantage"
"She's just joking around
when she calls me those things"
"My dad was the same way
to my mom that's just how life is"
"We were just playing around
and she got carried away"
"That's how he grew up he
can't change now"
"She was ready to have sex,
what kind of man would say no"
These are the false conceptions
of people who have had Domestic Violence touch their lives.
We have all heard the stories
or seen the movie of the week, but that is always just a select few
and it all works out in the end.......right?
Domestic violence is a serious problem here in the
Untied States
A problem that is just as serious, but not always acknowledged, is the
lack of awareness we as a nation show
Domestic Violence is not some mysterious "thing" that can
be fixed by some all purpose law.
Domestic Violence can happen anywhere
and to anyone
Abuse of this nature is a unique
situation in that the victim can be so
ashamed that it has even happened to them they would stay silent
This shame can easily keep some
in an abusive relationship
Many agencies and groups around the world are working
on ways for victims of domestic violence to speak out. One way is called
the Clothesline Project.
The Clothesline Project
On Campus
On
Monday Oct. 15th the Clothesline project was put up for the first time
here on the Ferrum College campus. The Clothesline project is meant
to both give awareness of the abuse in our country as well as be a form
of closure for those who have had abuse in their lives. The shirts them
selves were made by victims of all forms of Domestic Violence for all
over the country. The shirts were lent through Alpha Phi Omega at Roanoke
College, in conjunction Dr. Mead's Social Problem's class. Dr. Mead's
Social Problems class has been working closely with Alpha Phi Omega
to bring this to Ferrum. The clothesline itself is only half of what
Dr. Mead's Social Problems class hopes to accomplish, they will be distributing
surveys on Oct. 25th through the 29th. These are confidential and will
only be used for statistics of the Ferrum Community. A Copy of that
survey is available for those who wish on this site. A final presentation
will be held the date and time for that will be announced at a later
time.
We hope this project has the opportunity to help as many people that
it can. No one should ever have to suffer alone. Awareness of how abundant
and terrifying this problem truly is in our country is the best way
to help stop it from hurting anyone else
To participate in the Domestic
Violence Survey: Click
here
In the United States:
By the most conservative estimate, each year 1 million women suffer
nonfatal violence by an intimate. Bureau of Justice Statistics Special
Report: Violence Against Women: Estimates from the Redesigned Survey
(NCJ-154348), August 1995, p. 3.
By other estimates, 4 million American women experience a serious assault
by an intimate partner during an average 12-month period. American Psychl.
Ass'n, Violence and the Family: Report of the American Psychological
Association Presidential Task Force on Violence and the Family (1996),
p. 10.
Nearly 1 in 3 adult women experience at least one physical assault by
a partner during adulthood.
American Psychl. Ass'n, Violence and the Family: Report of the American
Psychological Association Presidential Task Force on Violence and the
Family (1996), p. 10.
Domestic violence is statistically consistent across racial and ethnic
boundaries.
Bureau of Justice Statistics Special Report: Violence Against Women:
Estimates from the Redesigned
Survey (NCJ-154348), August 1995, p. 3.
Each year, between 50,000 and 100,000 Lesbian women and as many as 500,000
Gay men are battered.
Murphy, Queer Justice: Equal Protection for Victims of Same-Sex Domestic
Violence, 30 Val. U. L. Rev. 335 (1995)
A battered woman who is not a legal resident, or whose immigration status
depends on her partner, is isolated by cultural dynamics which may prevent
her from leaving her husband or seeking assistance from the legal system.
These factors contribute to the higher incidence of abuse among immigrant
women.
Orloff et al., With No Place to Turn: Improving Advocacy for Battered
Immigrant Women, Family Law Quarterly, vol. 29, no. 2, 313 (Summer 1995).
Short term (6-12 week) psycho-educational batterer-intervention programs
helped some batterers stop immediate physical violence but were inadequate
in stopping abuse over time. Some batterers became more sophisticated
in their psychological abuse and intimidation after attending such programs.
American Psychl. Ass'n, Violence and the Family: Report of the American
Psychological Association Presidential Task Force on Violence and the
Family (1996), p. 85.
Each year, an estimated 3.3 million children are exposed to violence
by family members against their mothers or female caretakers.
American Psychl. Ass'n, Violence and the Family: Report of the American
Psychological Association Presidential Task Force on Violence and the
Family (1996), p. 11.
An average of 28% of high school and college students experience dating
violence at some point.
Brustin, S., Legal Response to Teen Dating Violence, Family Law Quarterly,
vol. 29, no. 2, 331 (Summer 1995) (citing Levy, In Love & In Danger:
a teen's guide to breaking free of an abusive relationship, 1993).
This information was received by the American
Bar Association
Only 16 percent of rapes are ever reported to the police.
Source: National Victim Center and Crime Victims Research and Treatment
Center, Rape in America: A Report to the Nation, 1992
One reported forcible rape (penetration of a female forcibly and against
her will) or attempted rape takes place approximately every six minutes
in the United States. This statistic does not included unreported rapes
or other sexual assaults, including assaults against men or many children
(boys, or girls sexually assaulted but not raped).
Source: Federal Bureau of Investigations. Crime in the United States.
1996
Estimates suggest that males account for 25% to 35% of child sexual
abuse victims.
Source: Finkelhor, "Current Information on the Scope and Nature
of Child Sexual Abuse," The Future of Children, Vol. 4, No. 2,
1994
While not all men who are victimized as adults are assaulted in prison,
26,000 adult males are raped daily in US jails and prisons and even
more are abused in reform school.
Source: Cahill, 1990
In 1998, there were 1,675 forcible rapes reported to the Virginia police.
As it is estimated that as few as 1 out of every 6 rapes are reported
to the police, the actual incidence of this crime could be as high as
10,644. Virginia sexual assault crisis centers tracked 2,869 forcible
rapes reported by victims in 1998.
Source: Virginia State Police Uniform Crime Report, 1998; VAASA Annual
Summary, 1998
This information was found in the VAASA
Any person who is forced to have
sexual intercourse by their spouse, against their will, through violence
or threat of violence, and who is living separate and apart or experiences
serious physical injury from the use of force can charge their spouse
with marital rape.
Any person who is forced to have sexual intercourse, oral sex, anal
sex, or penetration by an object by their spouse through violence or
threat of violence can charge their spouse with marital sexual assault.
There is no longer a time limit for reporting this crime.
MYTH: Men cannot be sexually assaulted
FACT: Any person can be sexually assaulted. Although
some state laws define the sexual assault of men as sodomy or some other
category of criminal activity, the reality of the crime and intensity
of its impact make sexual assault one of the most devastating acts of
violence a man can experience. Further, drugs and alcohol are used to
incapacitate victims. Physical strength is not always sufficient protection.
Emotional Aftermath:
There is the mistaken belief that men and women have different needs
after being sexually assaulted. Although it is true that outreach programs
specifically tailored to men are needed to reach male survivors, there
is a common human response to sexual assault. Shame, guilt, self-hatred,
fear, problems with physical intimacy, and anger are common responses
of both male and female survivors. These short-term responses can lead
to serious long-term psychological effects which include: lingering
fear and emotional pain; flashbacks and nightmares; low self-esteem;
prolonged periods of depression; an inability to trust and a fear of
intimacy. In addition to the emotional consequences, many male survivors
of sexual assault also report lingering physical effects such as: nausea
and vomiting; insomnia; sexual dysfunction; suicidal intentions and
attempts; and other medical complaints. As with female assault survivors,
there are many commonly held misconceptions about male sexual assault
and its survivors that add to the trauma survivors suffer and encourage
their silence. The emotional and psychological scars many last a short
time or a lifetime. This depends in part on the support the survivor
receives following the disclosure of an assault. A friend or family
member can have an enormous impact on the survivor's recovery. All survivors
need to know that they are not alone with their pain, that healing is
possible, and that whatever the circumstances, being sexually assaulted
was not their fault.
This information was received from GMU
To participate in
the Domestic Violence Survey
Click here
Links:
American Bar Association
VAASA
GMU
National Domestic Violence Hotline
1-800-799-7233
Virginia Sexual Assault Hotline
1-800-838-8238
National Victim Center
1-800-FYI-CALL
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