Fireside Chat Series #6: DOMESTIC VIOLENCE (Spouse, Teen, Partner, Employee)
piashantee
Published: June 18, 2014
DOMESTIC VIOLENCE:
Domestic violence, also known as domestic abuse, spousal abuse, battering, family violence, dating abuse, and intimate partner violence (IPV), is a pattern of behavior which involves the abuse by one person against another in an intimate relationship such as marriage, cohabitation, dating or within the family. It can be experienced by persons in heterosexual or same-sex relationships. Forms of domestic violence include physical, emotional, verbal, economic and sexual abuse, which can range from subtle, coercive forms of abuse to violent physical abuse that results in disfigurement or death. - wikipedia
In the past year or so I have been intimately affected by domestic violence on at least 3 occassions. #1) At a reunion of old co-workers I asked if anyone had heard from Kimberly over the years as I remembered her being such a lively, pretty, fun loving person and wanted to know how she'd got on in life after leaving our old organization. I was shocked to discover that she had been murdered some time ago by her boyfriend and that her story had been a media sensation. I looked it up online and was saddened, shocked, dismayed, enraged, and just boiling as the story I read. What happened to her seemed senseless and cruel and I could not understand why something like that happened to someone as sweet and bubbly as Miss Kimberly. k everyone on the planet either has been a victim of domestic violence or directly knows someone who has. There aren't too many things in the world that you can say that about. But this is one of them. #2) I was on Facebook looking through random pages and came across one lady's page where there something terrible had happened. It seemed to be that her husband had murdered her, her mother, and their three kids before committing suicide. He was a police officer, if I recall correctly, and when he didn't show up for work his fellow officers went to his house to discover the gruesome scene. I read the woman's Facebook page and she knew there was something wrong with her relationship. She had cryptically written that she had "some tough decisions" to make and that she "needed someone to talk to." Her friends were supportive and kind and offering help saying they were there for her and to call them. She replied, "thanks, girls - I think I know what I need to do, but thanks for being there" - or something to that effect. Maybe downplayin the severity of the situation. There were a series of photos of a December vacation in Disneyland. She talked about the kids and how they had fun. Her mother flew over from England to be with her family for the holidays. That was the last post. In January - the comments were of shock, horror, loss, dsbelief - from friends, family, loved ones - who had found out that this lady, her mother, and her children had all been killed by her husband. I grieved too - at the randomness of it and the fact that I had stumbled upon someone's ineplicable moment of grief. An entire family gone and mourning that spanned two nations. #3) I recently learned that a dear friend's favorite cousin had been murdered by the one person who should have protected her the most: her husband. Again - the questions come, the grief comes, the helplessness comes, the frustration comes, the anger ....the explosive anger comes and settles somewhere in the deepest parts and the thought comes - something needs to be done about this. this needs to stop. we can't continue to allow this disgusting, violent, senseless, murderous rage to wipe out women and children. THIS. MUST. END.
This topic affects us all - whether we are in a violent and/or abusive relationship or know someone who is. There is help out there. There is information. Maybe you don't really know if you're being abused or abusive - maybe you think "all couples fight / get into it / argue / trade blows / clash" sometimes, i's no big deal." But you may be in a dangeous situation and not know it. This affects business owners, too. How many times has a disgruntled husband or lover gone to a workplace and killed an employee?! How many times has your employee missed work, been hospitalized, or shown up at the office with weird bruises or wearing shades/covers ups? How many have received threatening calls or been victims of workplace harassment or bullying? Domestic violence touches all aspects of a person's life.
You may not be able to step in and save someone, but if you see something you may be able to say something or point them to someone who may be able to help them. If you are a teen and you are always fighting with your boyfriend or girlfriend - and you often find yourself getting physically or verbally abusive, you need to be at this meeting. If you are a victim and you don't know what options you have or where you can go to talk to someone or get help - you need to be at this Fireside Chat. This one may save your life - or the life of someone you love.
We will have experts on hand to help us discuss this issue. If you are a SURVIVOR - you have valuable information that may help someone else who doesn't think it's possible to get out of an abusive relationship. Come share your stories and give someone hope. Don't miss this one.
Don't miss this one.