ISSUES
: Domestic Violence
Chapter 1: Domestic violence
10
Don’t engage. If the abuser tries to
pick a fight or win an argument, don’t
engage with anger, over-explaining
yourself or apologies to try to soothe
him/her. Just keep quiet and walk
away.
Realise you can’t ‘fix’ them. You
can’t make this person change or
reason your way into their hearts and
minds. They must want to change
and recognise the destructive quality
of their behaviour and words. You’ll
only feel worse about yourself and the
situation by repeated ‘interventions’.
You are not to blame. If you’ve been
entrenched in an abusive relationship
for a while, it can be crazy-making.
You start to feel like something must
be wrong with you since this other
person treats you so poorly. Begin
to acknowledge to yourself that it is
NOT you. This is the first step towards
rebuilding your self-esteem.
Seek support. Talk to trusted
friends and family or a counsellor
about what you are going through.
Get away from the abusive person
as often as possible and spend
time with those who love and
support you. This support system
will help you feel less alone and
isolated while you still contend with
the abuser.
Develop an exit plan. You can’t
remain in an emotionally abusive
relationship forever. If finances
or children or some other valid
reason prevents you from leaving
now, develop a plan for leaving as
soon as possible. Begin saving
money, looking for a place to live
or planning for divorce if necessary
so you can feel more in control and
empowered.
Emotional abuse is a form of brain-
washing that slowly erodes the
victim’s sense of self-worth, security
and trust in themselves and others.
In many ways, it is more detrimental
than physical abuse because it slowly
disintegrates one’s sense of self and
personal value. It cuts to the core of
your essential being, which can create
lifelong psychological scars and
emotional pain.
Ö
Ö
The
above
information
is
reprinted
with
kind
permission from author Barrie
Davenport. Please visit www.
liveboldandbloom.com
for
further information.
© Barrie Davenport 2016
One in three women worldwide is a
victim of partner violence
An article from
The Conversation
.
A
third of women worldwide
have experienced physical
or sexual violence at the
hands of a partner, according to
the first comprehensive research
of its kind.
The report, published today by
the London School of Hygiene
and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM)
and the World Health Organization
(WHO), also reveals that nearly
40% of murders of women were
committed by close partners.
The figures show the shocking
levels of attacks on women across
the globe and a catalogue of health
problems caused by them.
The worst affected regions were
South-East Asia where nearly 38%
of women were subjected to sexual
or physical violence by a close
partner, followed by the Eastern
Mediterranean (37%) and Africa
(36.6%).
For violence committed by close
partners and others, Africa was worst
with 46% of women affected. Even in
the European region, which reported
the smallest rate, 27% of women
were victims of these types of abuse.
The research is the result of a
systematic review using global
population data taken from two
papers published in
The Lancet
and
Science
journals. Researchers used
the data to look at the association
between different forms of violence
and its impact on women’s health.
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
Proportion of victims who told the police about the partner abuse
experienced in the last 12 months, by sex, year ending March 2011
to year ending March 2015, Crime Survey for England and Wales
Men
Women
All
2011
2013
2015
10%
10%
10%
29%
27%
10%
26%
23%
22%
21%
Source: Crime Survey for England and Wales, Office for National Statistics, 11 February 2016
Percentage
Year
By Emily LindsayBrown, Assistant CommissioningEditor,
The
Conversation
, Jo Adetunji, Deputy Editor,
The Conversation
