Domestic violence is a lot more common than you would think. 33.6% of women and 28.6% of men are victims of domestic violence in Virginia. Domestic Violence in Virginia states, “1 in 3 women and 1 in 4 men in the United States have experienced some form of physical violence by an intimate partner.” The situation is a lot more severe than you would think. Many of the people who go to domestic violence shelters are children. Most of the time, these children are hurt by an adult in their life, probably someone they thought would never hurt them.
Some people who have never experienced being a victim of domestic violence don’t understand how hard it is to get yourself help. Most of the time your abuser slowly cuts you off from all your friends and family without you realizing it. They manipulate you into thinking you only need them. Also, there is the thought that if you tell someone, they won’t believe you. Someone might have threatened to tell, and their abuser convinced them that no one would believe them. When people think of domestic violence, they don’t always realize the mental abuse that comes with the physical abuse. Despite the physical abuse, the victims are also constantly manipulated and gaslighted. The victims might be convinced that no one will love them more than their abuser, no one will believe them, or that if they tell what’s happening, their abuser will hurt someone they love or hurt them more. It is a hard situation to be in and an extremely hard situation to get out of.
For anyone experiencing domestic violence you can call 800-799-7233 a domestic violence hotline. The choice a victim has to make to help themselves is hard, but most of the time it is in their best interest. Empowerhouse VA stated, “15.5 million children in the United States live in families in which partner violence occurred at least once in the past year, and seven million children live in families in which severe partner violence occurred.” These situations will always be hard to experience, but it is in your best interest to try and get help. Somewhere along the way, someone will believe you, so tell your story until someone listens.
