​National Domestic Violence Awareness Month

History Of Domestic Violence Awareness Month

The National Coalition Against Domestic Violence first started Domestic Violence Awareness Month in 1981. Back then, it was a Day Of Unity. However, it quickly evolved into a full week. Then, the first Domestic Violence Awareness Month took place in 1987.

There have been some significant moments in society over the years with regard to domestic violence. In 1994, the Violence Against Women Act was passed. This was led by Senator Joe Biden, and it is considered a landmark in our fight against domestic violence. The legislation was put in place to ensure that victims received services and programs and that offenders were held accountable. There are great efforts all around the world in order to reduce domestic violence, but there is still a lot that needs to be done, which is why Domestic Violence Awareness Month is so important.

Signs You Are In An Abusive Relationship

A lot of people do not realize that they are in an abusive relationship. Here are some of the signs that you could be in an abusive relationship that you need to get out of…

• Your partner sexually or physically abuses you. If they ever make you have sex with them when you don’t want to, hit you, shove you, or push you, this is domestic abuse.
• Your partner threatens you or your family.
• Your partner puts you down. They attack your capabilities, mental health, looks, or intelligence. They blame you for their violent outbursts.
• Your partner is jealous. They may isolate you from your family or friends or they may accuse you of not being faithful.
• Your partner is possessive. They may check up on you all of the time and they may get angry if you hang out with certain people.
• Your partner has strangled you, beat you, or hit you in the past.

Emotional Abuse

When we talk about raising awareness for Domestic Violence Awareness Month, it’s important that we acknowledge emotional abuse. This is a much bigger problem than a lot of people realize. Just because you don’t have bruises on your skin does not mean you are not being abused. A lot of women and men suffer from emotional abuse, and it is no less destructive. Unfortunately, emotional abuse is often overlooked or minimized, even by those experiencing this.

Emotional abusers look to chip away at your feelings of independence and self-worth. You can end up feeling like you do not have anything without your abusive partner or that there is no way out of your relationship.

Emotional abuse includes verbal abuse. This includes controlling behavior, intimidation, isolation, shaming, blaming, name-calling, and yelling. Abusers who use psychological or emotional abuse will often throw about threats of physical violence, as well as other repercussions if you do not do what they demand.

The scars of emotional abuse run deep, and they are very real! You may assume that physical abuse is a lot worse, as people can end up with physical wounds and send you to the hospital. However, emotional abuse can be just as damaging. Sometimes, it can even be worse. This is why it is important to raise awareness of all types of domestic violence and abuse.

Financial abuse is one of the subtler forms of emotional abuse. Some examples of this include:

• Taking your money or stealing from you
• Sabotaging your job – calling constantly or making you miss work
• Preventing you from choosing your own career or working
• Restricting you to an allowance
• Withholding basic necessities, such as shelter, medications, clothes, and food
• Making you account for every penny you spend
• Withholding credit cards or money
• Rigidly controlling your finances

See what else is happening…

There’s always more going on every month at Days Of The Year. Here are our favorites this month!