I’ve received several comments following my last post on domestic violence and wanted to address some of them. FIrst and foremost I want to thank all my readers for taking the time to write in on this topic. I also want to thank several of you for reminding me that women are not the only ones who are physically abused. Although domestic violence is more common for women than men, men are also the victims of physical abuse by thier partners and subsequently deal with many of the same painful issues as women who are abused.
It is difficult to get an accurate statistic on the frequency however due to the low level of reporting by men. Men often don’t report the violence due to several factors including: the stigma of a man being hit by a woman, not believing they will be believed, the physical damage is often much less than when the man is the perpetrator, lack of community support and knowledge of violence by women toward thier partners.
Many readers also commented on the difficulty of leaving violent relationships. Leaving violent relationships is one of the most difficult things to do. Often there has been years of abuse on top of isolation and a break down of the person’s spirit; these are not easy obstacles to overcome. If they are able to overcome these obstacles and actually make the decision to leave, then they have to deal with the fact that they are the greatest risk of violence when they leave…not an easy feat for anyone to overcome let alone someone who has been beaten down emotionally and physically for years.
However, it is a feat that needs to be done just the same. I admire those of you who have left violent relationships and thank you for sharing your stories on this blog. My hope is that your stories will give other women and men who are in violent relationships the strength to leave. The cost is too high for them not to. Violence is like a cancer that is ravaging families and only those whoare being abused can stop it…no matter how hard that is to do.
CHALLENGE: If you or someone you know is in a violent relationship. please call the number below for help. No romantic relationship is ever worth your life or the lives of your children.