A Conversation About Domestic Violence/Intimate Partner Abuse

February 15, 2023

Studio Talk Podcast: Real Conversations About Mental Health

A Conversation About Domestic Violence/Intimate Partner Abuse

Season 2 Episode 7

In this episode our co-hosts discuss domestic violence/intimate partner abuse. The discussion covers this very difficult and complex issue and makes an effort to clarify and provide important information about it.

Host Xiomara A. Sosa leads the conversation with co-hosts Victoria Lockridge and Lisa Early. She provides tips on how to recognize domestic violence/intimate partner abuse, what to safely do about it and how to provide resources and support. The co-hosts have an honest and open discussion regarding this difficult subject matter and invite the listeners to safely share their stories with them in the comments.

As always, Studio Talk Podcast encourages their listeners to provide feedback, comments as well as their opinions and experiences about their own experiences with major life transitions that impacted their mental health. The discussion offers resources and references for listeners to review and examine and listeners are encouraged to do their own research and draw their own conclusions about the issues discussed. As with most issues, there are negatives and positives found and the co-hosts recognize that as reality and have an honest conversation about it.

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Following are some points for reference/statistics about domestic violence/intimate partner abuse:

• 33 million people/15% are current or former victims.
• 85% of these victims are women.
• Annual result of 1,200 and 2 million injuries estimated to be women.
• 600,000 injuries estimated to men.
• For every reported incident it’s estimated that 10-30 incidents are not.
• Acts of DV occur every 15 seconds in the US.
• 3 women are murdered by their partners every day.
• Half of all couples experience at least one violent incident and in ¼ of these couples violence is a common occurrence.
• 95% of men who physically abuse their partners also psychologically abuse them.
• Psychological abuse is a stronger predictor of PTSD than physical abuse among women.
• 20% of all murders in the US are committed within families, 13% by spouses.
• 85% of all spousal abuse are committed by men.
• Financial abuse occurs in 99% of cases of abuse and is often the main reason why victims stay with or return to the abuser.
• 37% of women who go to the emergency report DV
• Battering is the single major cause of injury to women, more frequent than car accidents, muggings and rapes combined.
• 21% of victims of intimate violence lose their jobs.
• 1 in 4 female suicides were victims of family violence.
• 2011 SC ranked first in the country with homicide rates for female victims by male offenders. SC’s rate for this kind of homicide is more than twice the national average.
• Verbal abuse early in the relationships predicts subsequent physical spousal abuse.
• Children are emotionally traumatized by witnessing violence, many of them grow up to repeat the pattern as a victim or an abuser.
• Victims of DV are 3 times more likely to be victimized again than are victims of other types of crimes.
• A boy who witnesses his mother being abused is 10 times more likely to become a perpetrator as an adult.
• The most dangerous time for a victim is when leaving the relationship. 50% of injuries and 75% of domestic homicides happen after the relationships end. Research suggests it takes up to 7 times of trying to leave to actually leave, and it’s the most lethal time as well.
• DV is one of the most common crimes.
• 33 million people/15% are current or former victims.
• 85% of these victims are women.
• Annual result of 1,200 and 2 million injuries estimated to be women.
• 600,000 injuries estimated to men.
• For every reported incident it’s estimated that 10-30 incidents are not.
• Acts of DV occur every 15 seconds in the US.
• 3 women are murdered by their partners every day.
• Half of all couples experience at least one violent incident and in ¼ of these couples violence is a common occurrence.
• 95% of men who physically abuse their partners also psychologically abuse them.
• Psychological abuse is a stronger predictor of PTSD than physical abuse among women.
• 20% of all murders in the US are committed within families, 13% by spouses.
• 85% of all spousal abuse are committed by men.
• Financial abuse occurs in 99% of cases of abuse and is often the main reason why victims stay with or return to the abuser.
• 37% of women who go to the emergency report DV
• Battering is the single major cause of injury to women, more frequent than car accidents, muggings and rapes combined.
• 21% of victims of intimate violence lose their jobs.
• 1 in 4 female suicides were victims of family violence.
• 2011 SC ranked first in the country with homicide rates for female victims by male offenders. SC’s rate for this kind of homicide is more than twice the national average.
• Verbal abuse early in the relationships predicts subsequent physical spousal abuse.
• Children are emotionally traumatized by witnessing violence, many of them grow up to repeat the pattern as a victim or an abuser.
• Victims of DV are 3 times more likely to be victimized again than are victims of other types of crimes.
• A boy who witnesses his mother being abused is 10 times more likely to become a perpetrator as an adult.
• The most dangerous time for a victim is when leaving the relationship. 50% of injuries and 75% of domestic homicides happen after the relationship ends. Research suggests it takes up to 7 times of trying to leave to actually leave, and it’s the most lethal time as well.

Definition of Domestic Violence/Intimate Partner Abuse:

Domestic violence is a pattern of behaviors used to gain or maintain power and control.

Understanding the Impact of Domestic Violence

1 in 4 women and 1 in 9 men in the U.S. will experience intimate partner violence, making it a serious public health issue

Understanding Domestic Violence

This article uses the term domestic violence to refer to any behavior occurring in a romantic relationship that causes physical, sexual, or mental harm, regardless of whether people live in the same household. Domestic violence can occur between any two partners, regardless of gender or sexual orientation.

Another term, intimate partner violence (IPV), is also often used to refer to violence that occurs between romantic partners, while the term domestic violence is sometimes reserved for violence that takes place in a household.

In either case, the abuser could be a current spouse, former spouse, or dating partner.

Domestic violence is not uncommon. One in four women and one in nine men in the United States have reported experiencing sexual violence, physical violence, and/or stalking in their lifetime.

The actual rate of domestic violence and sexual assault is unknown because many experiencing it are afraid to disclose or report it.

Abuse does not need to have multiple occurrences or be carried out over years to be considered domestic violence. Even one episode can have serious impacts and should not be overlooked.

Domestic violence includes any of the following:

• Physical violence: hitting, kicking, slapping, or other types of physical force that are intended to hurt the partner.
• Sexual violence: forced, or attempted forcing, of a partner to engage in sexual acts when the partner does not consent or isn’t capable of consenting. This includes both sexual events and non-physical events, like sexting.
• Psychological aggression: verbal and non-verbal communication to erode a person’s self-worth, harm the partner mentally or emotionally, or exert control or power over the partner.
• Stalking: repeated, unwanted attention and/or contact that triggers fear or worry about partner safety, or the safety of others that are close to the victim. Stalking means the communication isn’t consensual and may include verbal, written, or implied threats.

Controlling behaviors are harmful to relationships and may point to more severe domestic abuse. Controlling behaviors are actions, whether verbal or physical, that limit a partner’s mobility or access to friends, family, or environments outside of the home.

The victim may also be deprived of food, money, or access to health care.

According to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, reproductive coercion can also occur. This includes behavior in a relationship related to reprodu...