I spoke to a room full of college students a few weeks ago on domestic violence. Did you know that according to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, women between the ages of 16-24 experience the highest level of domestic violence? Students are the most at risk for dating violence, because they aren’t experienced to see what red flags there are, and what is dangerous and abusive. It can be subtle. People think it has to be physical, but it can be verbal — it is just a different form of abuse. Because students do not always know what is normal in a relationship, the offenders can make excuses for the abuse with reasons like love, and often blame the victim for bringing on the abuse. For this reason, many domestic violence crimes do not get reported because the victim will be fearful to report or leave the offender. Domestic violence is about power and control that a person wants over another person. It is difficult to get out of because you don’t know how far the offender will go to punish you for leaving or reporting. Many stay out of fear, and they hope that it will change because it doesn’t often start this way. People don’t want the relationship to end, just the abuse.
Posted on: Mon, 11 Nov 2013 20:49:29 +0000
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