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Help Stop Domestic Violence Against Women and Girls
On February 3, 2009, Break the Cycle, an organization aimed at empowering youth to break the cycle of domestic violence, addressed Congress. According to them, at least 17 states have introduced or passed legislation to try to take on the problem of teen dating violence.
Sadly, a necessity in a society where teens think Chris Brown was justified in beating Rhianna or that she must have done something to deserve it. A society in which teens believe that violence is not only normal, but sometimes even laughable and the butt of sad jokes.
According to Kathy Doherty, executive director of Between Friends, a Chicago based group which goes into schools to help educate teens about domestic violence, educating young people is the key.
“When we first get there, it’s not unusual for kids-both boys and girls-to say it’s OK to hit your girlfriend or boyfriend. By the time we’re done, they say, yes, it is abuse, and, no, we shouldn’t do that.”
But currently some teens interviewed said that Rhianna must have done something to provoke it. One student at a Chicago high school reported an incident where a classmate came to school with a scratch on her eye. She was openly talking about her boyfriend hitting her and laughing it off. Sad times.
The key to to stopping domestic abuse against women is indeed education. That’s exactly why the 2009 theme of International Women’s Day is women and men uniting together to stop violence against women and girls. And it’s not only women fighting to stop the violence. Men are holding each other accountable as well in an effort to curb violence against women and girls.
Just last week Juan Ramos of Safe Horizon, an organization which works to hold men accountable for their actions, appeared on the MTV Special Chris Brown & Rihanna: Love in Trouble. Mr. Ramos says that men need to take accountability for their relationships. His advice for Chris Brown is take some time to figure out where he’s going in this relationships and his future relationships and to take accountability. He also believes that Brown can make a difference by using his voice to speak out against domestic violence.
So what can you do to help stop violence against women and girls? You can begin by getting involved in today’s Blogger’s Unite event supporting International Women’s Day by helping to educate the public.
According to Safe Horizon, learning the signs of domestic violence is the first step in getting help and helping others. They give these 10 signs of domestic violence:
- Accusations of cheating and being disloyal
- Making you feel worthless
- Hurts you by choking, kicking, or hitting
- Intimidates and threatens to hurt you or someone you love
- Threatens to hurt themselves if they don’t get what they want
- Tries to control you and who you see
- Tries to isolate you
- Pressures or forces you into unwanted sex
- Controls your access to money
- Stalks you including calling you constantly or following you
If someone you know is facing this, help them get help. Then continue to help by spreading the word. One very easy thing you can do is join Safe Horizon’s Facebook group helping to create awareness of relationship abuse.
A side note: People.com reports that Brown and Rihanna are back together. Let’s hope Chris takes the advice of Ramos. Obviously, if the reports are true, Rihanna did not take the advice Dr. Michelle Callahan gave in the MTV clip.
Thoughts?
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Tee aka The Diva's Thoughts March 3rd, 2009, 2:35 pm
Domestic violence should NEVER be tolerated.I saw a video once on a news investigative show that showed a woman being beat and berated by her husband while her 13 year old son was forced to video tape the incident. It made me phycially ill.
Tee aka The Diva’s Thoughts´s last blog post..I Am A Thief
lisaq March 4th, 2009, 6:35 am
Yeah. It’s scary, nasty stuff. We need to do all we can to end it.
Eugene Preston March 24th, 2009, 7:13 pm
Poor Chris Brown. That guy can’t catch a break!