Monsters are real. They don't live under our beds or in our closets and they don't only come out at night. The monsters may wear many faces; some familiar, some we put our trust in. They can be spouses, parents or intimate partners.
The monster is domestic violence. A topic that sadly seems to be at best discussed only in hushed tones and at worst, suffered in silence. The abuse can take many forms: physical, sexual and verbal. It can be manipulation, intimidation, psychological, controlling finances and stalking. You don't have to leave a bruise to damage someone.
Here are the hard facts: Nearly 1 in three women have been physically or sexually abused by a husband or boyfriend at least once in their lifetime. That's an incident every fifteen seconds. It's the leading cause of injury to women with only 25% of the incidences being reported. The statistics get worse, 30% of female murder victims were killed by husbands or boyfriends.
It doesn't have to be this way.
If you're in danger, call 911 or the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-SAFE (7233)
If you're in an abusive relationship, it's not your fault. No one deserves to be abused or made to live in fear. You're not alone there is help for both short term and long term plans.
For safety plans and additional information, please visit the following websites:
http://www.domesticviolence.org/
