By Janet Bloomfield

November is the month in which many of us wear white ribbons to draw attention to the terrible scourge of domestic violence. Our traditional understanding of domestic violence as something men do to women is inadequate in many ways, and continuing to focus on this important but narrow characterization ultimately hinders effective ways to address and end violence in families.

Here are five facts about domestic violence that need to be understood and addressed before we can hope to help families that suffer in this way:

• Domestic violence is about power.
• Domestic violence affects families, not just individuals.
• Domestic violence injures women the most severely, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t injure men, too.
• Domestic violence is not a joke just because it happens to men.
• Domestic violence is not always physical.

Emotional abuse is a major part of domestic violence. Domestic violence is understood as a tragedy, particularly when there are children involved, witnessing and often suffering from the violence themselves, because this is likely the way a new generation of abusers is born. If we sincerely want to address domestic violence, we need to understand it as, first and foremost, a human tragedy.

For help contact Annie Goods, Winn Parish DART Advocate, at 318-648-0559 or The
Crisis Hotline at 1-888-411-1333.