INFO

• Domestic Violence is not equivalent to physical violence

  • DV is more encompassing

• 1 in 4 women experience sexual/physical violence

• 1 in 10 men experience sexual/physical violence

• Women with disabilities are more likely to be abused than able-bodied women

• DV is linked to other forms of violence too, such as racism, sexism, homophobia, etc.

• POC and people in the LGBTQ+ community are disproportionately affected by DV

• POC are untrusting and usually not willing to seek help, due to bad experiences with racism in the past

• Indigenous women have the highest rates of physical and sexual violence in the US

• Identifying DV in immigrant/refugee communities is difficult due to the fear of deportation or community backlash

• Helping youth heal from DV exposure is important

• Talking to youth about individuality and healthy boundaries is important

• Engaging youth in preventative efforts is a key part to ending DV

• Male survivors face stigma that they should have been strong in the face of violence

• afraid to come forward because it means disclosing a same-sex relationship that they’re not ready to be open about

• Face discrimination from police, and domestic violence shelters because they are skeptical of their stories

• Men can be victims of power and control dynamic which has:

  • verbal/emotional abuse

  • Stalking

  • Physical abuse

  • Threats

  • Sexual coercion 

  • Isolation

  • Financial control

And more

• 26% of gay men and 37% of bi men have experienced rape, physical violence, stalking in their lifetimes

  • Compared 29% of straight men

• Abusers can also use a partner’s HIV status to control and intimidate a survivor

  •  the highest percentage of survivors living with HIV are gay and bisexual men

• Violence by an intimate partner may affect an individual's ability to engage in HIV care and treatment recommendations

• Individuals that report a history of intimate partner violence are more likely to report other HIV risk factors, including unprotected sex and injection drug use

• Evidence shows that sexual, physical, and emotional violence against individuals increases their risk for HIV by 3 times

• Intimate Partner violence does not only mean physical abuse

• Intimate Partner violence can be defined as the use or attempted use of physical, sexual, verbal, emotional, economic, or other forms of abusive behavior with the intent to harm, threaten, intimidate, control, isolate, restrain, or monitor another person.

• Reasons for disclosure of intimate partner violence can be because

• Shame or stigma

• Fear

• Gender, race, or sexual orientation

• Previous negative disclosure experiences

• Investment in the abusive relationship

• The belief that the abuse is not serious enough

• Media portrayal of victims

• Despite barriers that victims face, about 8 out of 10 victims who have faced intimate partner violence have asked health care practitioners about it.

• Available data indicate that 55% of women and 20% of men living with HIV infection experience intimate partner violence.

• 24% of women experience abuse by their partners after disclosing their HIV serostatus. 

https://nnedv.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/Combined-HIV_DV-Provider-Factsheet-.pdf

• Victims of domestic violence are 48% more likely to be exposed to HIV transmission than those in non-violent relationships. 

https://www.hiv.gov/hiv-basics/overview/about-hiv-and-aids/what-are-hiv-and-aids/

• What are HIV and Aids?

• HIV is a virus that attacks cells that help the body fight infections. 

• Having HIV makes a person more vulnerable to other types of infections and diseases.

• HIV is mainly transmitted by contact with certain bodily fluids of a person with HIV most commonly through unprotected sex, or sharing of injection drug equipment

• There has been no cure found for HIV so far, however there are treatments which help reduce the amount of HIV in blood.

• Some National Organizations: American Bar Association Commission on Domestic Violence, Asian & Pacific Islander Institute on Domestic Violence, Community United Against Violence

• California: 

  • California partnership to End Domestic Violence

  • California Mental Health Services Division (MHSD): has many resources for both adults and children which can provide help and support

  • https://www.cpedv.org/domestic-violence-organizations-california is a really helpful site that helps you locate supportive organizations in your area

• You can also help support organizations that are empowering victims/survivors of DV:

  • National Domestic Violence Hotline

  • Futures without Violence

  • National Coalition against Domestic Violence

  • Community United Against Violence

  • https://donorbox.org/nonprofit-blog/domestic-violence-nonprofits more organizations here

• 175 different programs in California that can help victims in need of help

• Programs located in 109 different cities across California

• Some of the cities near Milpitas that have programs:

  • Fremont

  • San Francisco

  • San Jose

  • Santa Clara

  • Oakland

• Fremont has 1 DV and Abuse shelter,

• Oakland has 5 DV and Abuse Shelters with4 offering emergency shelter and hotlines

• San Jose has 3 DV and abuse shelters with all 3 offering emergency shelter and hotlines

• San Francisco has 9 DV and Abuse shelters with 5 offering emergency shelter and hotlines

• Santa Clara has 2 DV and Abuse shelters, 1 offering emergency shelter and a hotline

• Ways you can emotionally support someone who is afraid to reach out for help:

  • Acknowledging the situation

  • Creating a safety plan (contacts, ways to safely leave)

  • Offering to go with them to get help (moral support)

• Ways you physically support someone:

  • Helping them find a support network 

  • Helping them know their legal rights and having all their important papers in one place in case they need to leave the situation immediately

  • Encouraging them to talk to a trusted adult, or person, in their life

  • https://www.thehotline.org/support-others/ways-to-support-a-domestic-violence-survivor/ - Source

• Dating violence can be in person, or via technology/online

• The four types of violence are: physical, sexual, psychological, and stalking

• Physical: straightforward, physical hitting, kicking, slapping, punching etc

• Sexual: forcing a non-consenting partner to take part in sexual acts, also includes sharing sexual pictures without consent

• Psychological aggression: verbal/non-verbal aggression with the intent to harm your partner mentally/emotionally

• Unwanted contact/attention by former or current partner

• Teen dating violence impacts your health (mentally and physically), and wellbeing

• Around 1 in 12 teens experience physical or sexual dating violence

• Female students or students who are part of the LGBTQ Community are more susceptible to violence

• Source: https://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/intimatepartnerviolence/teendatingviolence/fastfact.html

• Before the age of 18, 3.5 million women and 1 million men have experienced being stalked

• Ways to prevent dating violence: 

  • being trustworthy

  • Learning about healthy relationships

  • Recognize signs of an unhealthy relationship

  • Look for signs like: changes in mood, sleep/eating patterns, decline in performance at school, withdrawal from friends

  • Loss of interest in hobbies

• Source - https://www.chop.edu/news/health-tip/facts-about-teen-dating-violence-and-how-you-can-help-prevent-it

• Teen dating violence can lead to long-term negative outcomes and could lead to substance use later on in life

• 1 in 3 girls in the US are a victim of physical, emotional, or verbal abuse from a partner

• 1 in 10 highschoolers have been physically hurt by their partners

• 81% of parents believe that teen dating violence is not an issue or didn’t know this was an issue

• 1 in 11 female and 1 in 14 male highschoolers have reported physical violence

• 26% of women and 15% of men were victims of violence experienced it before age 18

• Throughout history, laws have often ignored and even supported DV

• Sometimes, violence was seen as “justifiable” so that they abuser could women and children “under control”

• The oldest record of these laws have been seen in the Babylon during around 1792-1750 BCE

• “Eye for an eye” is an example of that where only men were given the power to use this law

  • Slaves hands could be cut off for asserting independence against their master

  • Women and children were treated as property and, in some cases, could be punished with death

• In the Roman empire, the male head of the household was given supreme and absolute power over his wife and children

  • Could sell family into slavery, abuse, or kill them

  • Could beat and disown wives for adultery or “insufficient clothing”

  • Could decide whether newborn baby was to be raised or abandoned to die

• In 15th century Catholic Church established “Rules of Marriage”

  • Proclaimed husband was judge over wife, and recommended abuse as a form of discipline to “benefit her soul

  • Beliefs became a established part of culture and law throughout Christian world, and to this day some leaders in the Catholic Church use bible verses to justify abuse in marriage

• 17th century Puritans who settled in North America did not acknowledge women and children as part of the legal system

  • Only white male property owners has rights under law

  • Men could physically punish wives and children as long as violence did not disturb neighbors

  • Women had no rights under the law to leave home or get a divorce and no way to prevent future abuse

  • Biblically believed that it is wife’s duty to submit to and obey her husband

• In later centuries, family life in America was where a man had complete control over his wife, children, and any enslaved people

• The 19th century started movements to abolish slavery and the expansion of suffrage

  • Seneca Falls Convention, Emancipation proclamation

• In the 20th century much more progress and development occurred 

  • Declaration on the Elimination of Violence Against Women in 1993

  • Violence Against Women Act in 1994

• Since these times, the conditions of DV have greatly improved

• DV still occurs 

• 1 in 4 women, 1 in 7 men with disabilities are subjected to DV throughout their lives

• 25% of adults in a range of physical, cognitive, emotional disabilities experience DV

• People tend to ignore the connection between abuse and disability

• People with disabilities experience higher rates of DV and SA 

• 70% of disabled people experience various forms of abuse 

• 3 times more likely to be SAed

• 80% of women with disabilities have been SAed and also experience intimate partner violence at 40% higher rate than non-disabled females

• There are many forms of DV that disabled people face, here are a few:

  • invalidating/minimizing disability

  • Refusing to help when it’s needed

  • Over-medicating, tampering, withholding medication

  • Denying access to resources/healthcare

  • SA when disabled person cannot consent

  • Stealing/tampering finances

  • Restricting access to mobility device(s)

  • Harming/threatening service animal

  • Using the disability to manipulate, humiliate, and justify abuse

  • Abandonment

  • Intentionally withholding care, ignoring hygiene

• Almost 100% of disabled victims of DV experience it at the hands of trusted people in their lives

• Ways to encourage and help disabled people who have experienced DV:

  • Call police or authorities if you know someone is in trouble

  • Economically empowering people - program to educate disabled people on how to boost employment or economic opportunities

  • Training service providers - giving proper education to providers or caregivers and explaining thee dire situations to them

  • Access and shelter - easy access to safety and shelter if/when needed