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# Family Advocacy Program promotes awareness of domestic violence

By Lisa GrenonDLA Battle Creek Morale, Welfare and Recreation Family Programs

October is Intimate Partner Violence or Domestic Violence Awareness month. Even though IPV/DV is recognized in October this is something that people should be aware of as it occurs all year.

                Domestic Violence Posters                            Throughout the month of October, there are displays in the halls of the Hart-Dole-Inouye Federal Center sharing the stories of various cases from infants to adults, men and women to bring light to the importance of knowing and understanding that domestic violence can happen to anyone and people need to know the signs and how to get and give assistance.            SHARE IMAGE:Download ImageImage DetailsPhoto By: Jace ArmstrongVIRIN: 201023-D-OS362-100Throughout the month of October, there are displays in the halls of the Hart-Dole-Inouye Federal Center sharing the stories of various cases from infants to adults, men and women to bring light to the importance of knowing and understanding that domestic violence can happen to anyone and people need to know the signs and how to get and give assistance.  

An average of 24 people per minute are victims of physical violence, stalking or rape by an intimate partner in the United States – more than 12 million women and men over the course of a single year.

Domestic Violence includes physical, verbal, financial, sexual, emotional/psychological abuse and stalking of a past or present intimate partner.

There are many excuses for domestic violence, but the truth is that a person is violent because they need to exercise **power** and **control** over another person. An abuser makes the conscious **choice** to be violent to a specific person.

People should be aware of the red flags or warning signs. Some of these include constantly speaking down to a partner, extreme jealousy, explosive temper, isolating partner from family and friends, making false accusations, mood swings, possessiveness, telling partner what to do or what to wear, and checking their phone, emails or social media without permission.

How can someone help a person who has experienced domestic violence or intimate partner violence? Listen and validate what they share. Empower them and offer choices. Remain non-judgmental. **Always** be supportive no matter if you disagree with their choice. Never tell them what to do. Offer resources for assistance and safety planning to help keep them safe and get away from the abuse.

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Stories from the October 2020 Hart-Dole-Inouye Federal Center displays
                              - A 42-year-old Michigan woman was shot and left in her car by her boyfriend of 18 years.                                   - Domestic violence reports in a southern Michigan county doubled between March and April when the stay at home order was implemented.
                                - Michigan has the 26th highest homicide rate for women murdered by men.
                                - Over half of domestic violence homicides in Michigan are committed with guns. 
                              - One-year-old boy beaten to death by his mother’s military boyfriend because he wouldn’t stop crying.                                   - Some studies suggest that military children experience more severe forms of maltreatment and physical abuse. For example, elevated rates of fatal child maltreatment and shaken baby syndrome have been documented in military families.
                                - Between 30% to 60% of military families experiencing domestic violence also report experiencing child maltreatment. 
                              - A 4-year-old Michigan girl was brutally neglected and abused to death by her mother and mother’s boyfriend.                                   - Child abuse is most common between the ages of 2-5 years old.
                                - Parents were responsible for 61% of child murders under the age of five.
                                - There is a common link between domestic violence and child abuse. Among victims of child abuse, 40% report domestic violence in the home. 
                              - An 18-year-old high school student was stabbed to death by her ex-boyfriend after ending their relationship.                                   - Nearly 1 in 11 female high school students report having experienced physical dating violence in the last year.
                                - Females between the ages of 16 and 24 are roughly 3 times more likely than the rest of the population to be abused by an intimate partner. 
                              - A 31-year-old military spouse was shot 15 times by her husband in front of their three children in their front yard.                                   - In 2018, DOD reported 16,912 incidents of spouse and intimate partner abuse.
                                - Women are 66% more likely than men to experience domestic violence while in a military family.
                                - While intimate partner violence declined among civilians between 2003 and 2010, it rose by a whopping 177% in the Army during the same period. 
                              - A 15-year-old girl shot and killed her mother and father after facing years of abuse.                                   - In 2018, 76% of child abuse perpetrators were a parent to their victim.
                                - Children who experienced any form of violence in childhood have a 13% greater likelihood of not graduating from high school.
                                - Adult survivors of childhood abuse are more likely to experience mental health difficulties, including depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, PTSD, eating disorders and substance use disorders. 

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**There is hope and there is help**

 

 

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