What used to be thought of as a private issue for some marriages, domestic violence is now a widely discussed and public concern.
Society is no longer remaining silent about this issue; rather, it is actively encouraging victims/survivors to speak up and offering services to help end this troubling phenomenon.
The University of Alabama’s Dr. Tricia Witte offers some helpful information on domestic violence, as well as some warning signs if you suspect that you or someone you know is in an abusive relationship.
- Domestic violence refers to a variety of forms of abuse toward a current or former intimate partner, including physical violence as well as denigrating, controlling, intimidating or threatening behaviors. It also captures sexual abuse and aggression carried out through electronic means (e.g., text messaging, social media).
- Domestic violence is a significant public health concern in the United States and around the world. The U.S. Department of Justice conducted a national survey and found that 22.1 percent of surveyed women and 7.4 percent of surveyed men reported being physically assaulted by a current or former intimate partner, such as a boyfriend/girlfriend, spouse or cohabitating partner.
- An even more troubling statistic is that violence is occurring in college, high school and even middle school dating relationships. For example, in a study of 1,430 7th grade students conducted by RTI International, 37 percent of the surveyed students said they had been victims of psychological abuse (denigration, intimidating and threatening behaviors, etc.), 15 percent said they were victims of physical dating violence and 31 percent said they were victims of electronic dating aggression, such as threatening text messages or derogatory comments on social media.
- Prevention programs for dating violence are becoming more prevalent in schools and colleges. Some prevention programs aim to teach students about healthy relationships while other programs focus on changing the entire culture at the school by encouraging students to promote an environment that is not accepting of violence and to seek training on this topic so they can help their friends and classmates who are in abusive relationships.
- Warning signs if you suspect that you or someone you know is in an abusive relationship include: signs of jealousy or controlling behavior, discouraging you from talking to or seeing friends and family, demonstrating threatening behavior or acting in ways that scare you, calling you names or making you feel worthless, destroying your property and using physical force, such as grabbing, shoving or hitting.
The National Domestic Violence Hotline is 1-800-799-7233.
Witte is an associate professor of human development and family studies in UA’s College of Human Environmental Sciences.
