Violence in any form, is never the answer to solving a problem. It may look like a promising solution in the beginning, but it usually has a nasty way of coming back around to cause more damage. Violence can occur any where but when it’s happening in the home, its tougher for many of its victims to accept and call for an end to it.

Home is where the heart is, so that makes it all the more difficult for some people to acknowledge and reach out for help against domestic violence.According to the Eve  (Ending Violence Everywhere) Foundation , “estimates range from 960,000 incidents of violence against a current or former spouse,boyfriend, or girlfriend to 3 million women who are physically abused by their husband or boyfriend per year”.

No one anticipates someone they love to abuse them in any way but when their true colors are shown, the love for that person usually masks them by saying “He didn’t mean it, he just got mad” or “He still loves me”. This is especially true in the Black community since Black Women’s Health reported that their members have higher rates of domestic violence than any other race in the U.S. Black Women’s Health reported that that factors such as unemployment, underemployment and broken homes result in the build up of  tension and eventual violent lashing out in addition to “poor schools, inadequate vocational skills and training, bad housing, the influence and use of drugs, and the density of liquor stores in the inner city”. All common circumstances associated with the Black community as a whole.

The most troubling revelation about this is that Black Women’s Health reported that many Black women decide to kill their abusers to end the violence, therefore only adding to the already overwhelming Black prison population.

As reported by Black Women’s Health:

Many Black women may find it harder to leave a battering relationship than White women. The reasons for this are unclear, but some possible explanations include the following: (1) African American women have fewer options in their search for a marital partner than do White women; (2) African American women on average, have a lower income level than that of most White women; (3) Black women are reluctant to call the police because they see the racial injustice in the criminal justice system; (4) community support systems including women’s shelters and other service programs may be less available to them and they may view the shelter system movement as something mainly to benefit White women. Unfortunately, many Black women resort to “homicide” as an answer to the violence and battering they encounter.

http://www.blackwomenshealth.com/blog/domestic-violence-when-love-becomes-hurtful/

So how to we help solve this problem in the Black community and others that are suffering from it? Tell someone! Get a restraining order, tell your friends, show a co-worker the bruises, or leave. If you don’t speak up, no one will know and by the time they do it could be too late. It doesn’t matter if he hit you once, twice or 100 times. One hit is too many. Report it, get it on record and take further action like deciding if you want to stay in the relationship.

If you or someone you know is suffering from domestic violence, contact your local authorities immediately.

Click here to take an anonymous on domestic violence survey .

-Dr.O

Picture source: http://www.mentalhelp.net/poc/view_doc.php?type=doc&id=28935&cn=5