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Yahoo!In March of 2010, Mary Kay funded a survey of over 700 domestic violence shelters across the country to verify what those of us working in the field have long noticed; over the past 18 months there has been a marked increase in women seeking assistance with problems of abuse. Most of this increase is attributed to financial issues with more than half stemming from job loss. More than half of the shelters report that the abuse is more violent now than it was before the downturn.
Detailed findings from the 2010 “Mary Kay Truth About Abuse” survey reveal alarming trends, including:
* 88 percent of domestic violence shelters expect their overall situation during the next 12 months will be worse than now, or the same as now, in light of the economy.
* Three out of four domestic violence shelters (77 percent) report an increase in women seeking assistance from abuse.
* 75 percent of shelters attribute this rise in abuse to “financial issues.”
* 54 percent of shelters link this increase in domestic violence to “job loss.”
* More than half (57 percent) of women in shelters can’t find employment due to the economy.
* 51 percent of shelters nationwide note the abuse is more violent now than before the economic downturn.
After overcoming the challenges of abuse in my own life, I began working with victims of domestic violence. Despite the fact that I consider myself a strong person, I fell prey to abuse. I blamed myself for my situation and stayed because of circumstances of economic dependency and cultural pressures. Like many other women, I felt I had no options because of the attitudes of my community that both pardoned and indirectly helped sustain the violence. The prevalence of control and abuse against women is pervasive throughout our society. It is imperative that we reach out to all women by talking about what love should look like. Education is crucial for traumatized women who simply do not know how to ask for help and cannot afford to leave. Women don’t really understand what options are open to them.
Domestic violence is a societal problem that does not discriminate. Even as I write, many women, men and children in the United States are physically, emotionally, and sexually abused. We must speak out and refuse to accept the abuse of. “We must speak out and refuse to accept the abuse in our community-this is a matter of life and death”.
Domestic Violence Solutions for Santa Barbara County works to end the intergenerational cycle of domestic violence by providing prevention and intervention services and by challenging society’s attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors to affect social change. If you or someone you know need help please call our 24 hour hotline (South County) 964-5245 (North County SM) 925-2160 (Lompoc) 737-0073. For more information, please see our website dvsolutions.org
Comments
Governor Schwarzenegger has to be commended for making a very wise, sound decision in restoring funding for battered women shelters. Without a shelter for a battered woman to go to, she could be killed or severely beaten. This is a very important point that Governor Schwarzenegger recognized. Most men are bigger than women. This is a reverse decision for Governor Schwarzeneger and this decision shows that the Governor has a flexible mind to do what is right. Well done ! Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger! You have saved the lives of many battered women. If a husband has plans to murder his wife, beware, the "Terminator will be Back."
EarlRichards (anonymous profile)
October 26, 2010 at 11:12 a.m. (Suggest removal)
If a bad economy equals battered women. Then the democrats are definitely the worst abusers of women in the history of our country. Why?
January 3, 2007: the Democrats take over the Senate and House:
DOW Jones closed at 12,621.77
GDP for the previous quarter was 3.5%
Unemployment rate was 4.6%
Bush Economic policy had SET A RECORD of 52 STRAIGHT MONTHS of JOB CREATION!
More Than 8.3 Million jobs created, in the longest continuous run of job growth on record
January 3, 2007: Barney Frank takes over the House Financial Services Committee
January 3, 2007: Chris Dodd takes over the Senate Banking Committee.
The Economic meltdown starts 15 months later, in BANKING AND FINANCIAL SERVICES! A CRISIS caused by dumping $6 TRILLION in toxic loans into the economy from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac!
OBAMA takes the THIRD highest pay-off from Fannie Mae AND Freddie Mac!
HYPOCRITE in Chief Obama fights reform of Fannie Mae AND Freddie Mac!
JANUARY 3, 2007.... THE DAY THE DEMOCRATS TOOK OVER!
jukin (anonymous profile)
October 26, 2010 at 12:51 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Economy, politics, culture, race, ethnicity, religion or whatever, any "man" that lifts his hand @ a woman is nowhere near a "man." Domestic abuse is a disgrace :) henry
hank (anonymous profile)
October 26, 2010 at 2:43 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Credible research overwhelmingly shows that the ratio of d.v. is at least 50/50 between women & men. http://tinyurl.com/3sakk According to one study by researchers who work at the CDC, in 70% of domestic violence incidents, where the domestic violence is not mutual, it's women who initiate the domestic violence. http://tinyurl.com/yzm9xhe The taxpayer funded domestic violence industry has largely mischaracterized the true nature of d.v. from the beginning and continues to mislead the public. D.V. law follows a gender feminist agenda/ideology over facts in evidence and does great harm to many innocent men (and also many battering women who need help) as shown in "Los Misandry" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SAmOxv...
Ray2447 (anonymous profile)
October 26, 2010 at 3:51 p.m. (Suggest removal)
V.P. Biden recently called violence against women, "the very worst abuse." The very worst abuse is valuing one life less than another for having been born the wrong sex. Under Biden's Violence Against Women Act the wrong sex is men. Shelter and services are virtually non-existent for male victims of domestic violence so those options out of a bad relationship, that are routinely available to women, are very often not available to men. Men wind up gender profiled and often falsely accused by the taxpayer funded, d.v. industry, because of gender feminist ideology controlling the d.v. industry. Men are often battered by domestic violence, and then battered again by the taxpayer funded, domestic violence industry.
Ray2447 (anonymous profile)
October 26, 2010 at 3:54 p.m. (Suggest removal)
According to the U.S. Dept of Health and Human Services and DOJ statistics, more kids are killed by neglect and abuse in a year (1,760 in 2007), than all the female intimate partner homicides in a year. Mothers are the single largest group of kid killers, according to HHS and they have a rate twice that of fathers. Nowhere near the money is spent to protect kids from kid killing mothers as is spent by the domestic violence industry to protect women. A lot of innocent men are witch-hunted by the corrupt, gender feminist influenced, taxpayer funded, domestic violence industry. Involving the corrupt d.v. industry in an attempt to prevent abusive and neglectful deaths of children is a big mistake. No place better exemplifies the corruption of the taxpayer funded, domestic violence industry than "Los Misandry." http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SAmOxv...
Ray2447 (anonymous profile)
October 26, 2010 at 3:58 p.m. (Suggest removal)
If Biden said that, than he's a fool for making abuse a comparative thing. What about the 95-year-old man whose a punching bag for his daughter? What about abused kids, abused handicapped people, or (light bulb goes on over my head) any person or animal that lives in terror of someone?
That having been said, there needs to be places where anyone who is abused can go to in order to seek shelter. Bad economy, bad upbringing, sexualization of women, and bad life choices of both sexes are all contributing factors to this ongoing tragedy.
billclausen (anonymous profile)
October 28, 2010 at 6:03 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Ray I don't know what planet you are living on but your "statistics" about women being abusers as much as--or almost as much as--men are just plain WRONG. (And just plain LIES.) You seem to have some ISSUE you are trying to work out, dude. Hope you're not workin' out on a woman.
The truth is that 97% or so of batterers ARE men. The truth is just about that many men NEVER quit being batterers. The best thing a woman can do is RUN, don't walk, from a man who hits you EVER. Learn how to make your own money and never look back.
As Hank pointed out, real "men" don't hit women.
maximum (anonymous profile)
October 31, 2010 at 7:45 p.m. (Suggest removal)
But we'll shake the sh!t outta them!
Pinatubo (anonymous profile)
November 3, 2010 at 10:21 p.m. (Suggest removal)