Usually I write my usual unformatted, silly little posts and observations on whatever seems to be flowing through my mind at the time. Today I am writing something that may actually inform or educate. One in four American women have experienced Domestic Violence and usually as past Volunteer work I did can attest it is often repetitive to the point that the victim covers for the perp and will stay in an odd "Stockholme Syndrome" type Fugue state where the good times or walking on eggs shells all the time to not trigger an attack becomes the norm. (and this goes for any gender am using the female stats for this gem)...According to an article am going to provide a link to, "Domestic violence victims are most at risk for getting killed in the moment that they decide to leave their partners, Cindy Southworth, executive vice president of the National Network to End Domestic Violence, told The Huffington Post in June. To help survivors signal to others that they need help, but are struggling to ask for it, a new initiative is encouraging victims to paint a tiny black dot on their hands." The full article on the Black Dot Campaign is here, http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/domestic-abuse-survivors-paint-black-dots-on-hands-to-signal-they-need-help_us_55fc36bde4b0fde8b0cdfbb4
Staying out of the "neighbors drama" is burying your head in the sand to the reality that although stats tend to vary, the overall research I've done shows that homicide is holding steady in the top five killers of women, especially under the age of 50. In no way am I saying that men are not to be not included in this silent epidemic where sometimes what happens behind closed doors doesn't stay there. Most of us have heard our friends and loved ones saying the usual "He is going to change...I am going to help him...If I leave him now he threatened to kill himself, etc...." The truth of the matter is we are responsible for our own actions and when they infringe on the basic human rights and well being of someone you supposedly love then one must question why the hell anyone would terrorize someone they supposedly care for. Although Domestic Awareness month isn't until October I believe, am making May a "Spring Cleaning" of sorts where nobody should have to think one month "awareness" drives home the fact that walking on eggshells and wearing long sleeves in warm weather to hide yet another outburst should be tolerated. You have the right to have peace, we all have the right to be safe and not live in a bubble where someone else is determining your fate or your life. If someone asks you for help or is telling you of abuse, believe them....the judicial system albeit flawed will hopefully be the voice for those who can not always ask for help outright. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/10/23/domestic-violence-statistics_n_5959776.html
Give a damn