Domestic Violence

Pop star Rihanna's beating by boyfriend Chris Brown sparked a national conversation about domestic abuse, a tragic issue that rarely makes it into the national spotlight despite the millions of women (and some men) who fall victim to domestic violence every year.

According to the National Center for Injury prevention and control women are the victims of about 4.8 million physical assaults and rapes by their partners every year. Less than 20 percent of battered women seek medical treatment following an injury.

Domestic Violence is a pattern of controlling and aggressive behaviours from one adult (normally a man) towards another (usually a woman) within the context of an intimate relationship. The violence can be physical, sexual, psychological or emotional abuse. The violence and abuse can be actual or threatened and can happen once every so often or on a regular basis. It can also happen at any time in a relationship, in new relationships or after years spent together. All forms of abuse are often from the abusers desire for power and control.

Rihanna's celebrity pushed the issue to the forefront of our national conversation, when a leaked photo of Rihanna's battered face reached the media. After reports that Rihanna returned to Chris Brown, after this incident much of the conversation shifted to the question "Why doesn't she just leave?" It seem reasonable enough to wonder why a battered woman would stay with an abuser. But it's also essential to consider the complicated power dynamics involved in abusive relationships, which make it difficult for victims to leave their abusers; on average, it takes a battered women six attempts to escape her partner for good.

Domestic Violence of any sort is wrong. It is immoral and dangerous. People who do it, do so in order to gain control, but no-one should be able to control someone in this way. It is completely unacceptable.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/relationships/domestic_violence/whathh_index.shtml

http://www.alternet.org/reproductivejustice/132169/rihanna_and_domestic_violence:_how_we_are_messing_up_a_teachable_moment/?page=1