October: Domestic Violence Awareness Month

By Diashalyqe Bradley

Domestic violence. It’s a commonly used term, but what really does it mean? According to National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, domestic violence is intentional emotional, physical and mental abuse between two partners in a relationship that occurs within the home. As of 2015, nearly 20 people are physically abused per minute by an intimate partner in the United States. Over the course of a year, this is equivalent to more than ten million people in the United States. One in three women and one in four men have been victims of [some form of] physical violence by an intimate partner within their lifetime. In 1920, domestic abuse was made illegal in all 50 states, and in October in 1981 Domestic Violence Month was created. Domestic violence doesn’t only affect adults; in fact, nearly 20.9 percent of female high school students and 13.4 percent of male high school students report being physically or sexually abused by a dating partner. A total of 1.5 million high school students in the United States are physically abused by dating partners every year. Below, Sammy,* a Central York High School student tells her story of abuse and her involvement in domestic violence: “For 16 years of my life I’ve seen my mother be physically, emotionally and mentally abused by my father,” said Sammy. “My father is an alcoholic, and has been for a very long time, but when he would drink he was very abusive. Sometimes it didn’t matter if he was drunk or sober; he would always find a reason to hit me or my mother.” “This wasn’t just a once and a lifetime thing, the abuse happened all the time and it was worse after every incident.” Sammy said Domestic violence cases are often charged as misdemeanors, and because of the high attrition rate, offenders do not accumulate criminal records that might influence prosecutors and judges. According to Pennsylvania’s Coalition Against Domestic Violence, the Address Confidentiality Program provides a secret and confidential address for a victim to use. According to the ACP law, an applicant must be a victim of domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking or a person who lives in the same household as the victim. Sammy said, “The key to getting out is to be smart.” “The first time we escaped we left when my father was at work and stayed at a hotel where we thought we were safe, but my father found us. The second time we tried to escape my mom’s friend told us that we needed to get as far away from him as possible because he was going to end up killing us,” said Sammy “With the second attempt with the help of my mother’s friend we escaped safely,” said Sammy “From dealing with the abuse of my father for so long I now suffer from PTSD, Clinical Depression and I am on the verge of having to be medicated for depression,” said Sammy Domestic victimization is correlated with a higher rate of depression and suicidal behavior and only 34 percent of people who are injured by intimate partners receive medical care for their injuries. A piece of advice from Sammy for anyone who finds themselves in the same situaiton? “Get out as fast as you can, and when you do don’t look back.” If you know anyone who is in a violent relationship call 1-800-799-SAFE *Name changed for confidentiality reasons

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