Domestic violence is one of the biggest problems in the US — over 1 of 3 women (35.6%) have experienced rape, physical violence or stalking by an intimate partner throughout their life. This statistic is awful because it means that domestic violence can touch almost everyone in the country — and, sadly, it relates much more to women.
The issue is that even though officials know the issue and society tries to increase its awareness, no truly effective measures have been taken for a while. Leave alone other social threats, such as narcomania or problem gambling, which also often creates violence — and mostly towards women who are close to addicted ones. Thus, journalists can do a lot to improve awareness about responsible gambling — but that’s a topic for another article.
When the government and other official institutions are struggling with resolving such a critical issue, which truly destroys millions of lives, leads to awful long-term consequences and affects almost half of the women’s population, it’s our duty as journalists and citizens to take action and do everything we can in order to stop the evil. But what can we do exactly?
Domestic Violence: Frightening Statistics
- 24 people are raped, physically attacked or stalked by their partner per minute on average in the US;
- 15% of women have been traumatized as a result of domestic violence;
- A quarter (25%) of the US women population have been experiencing severe domestic violence in their lifetime;
- Half of women in the US have experienced mental violence from their partners;
- From 1994 to 2010, over 4 out of 5 victims of domestic violence were women;
- 1 out of 5 US women have been raped during their life;
- 81% of raped women reported serious impacts on their life after the violent act, including physical injuries and symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder.
- Over 92% of US women — victims of a rape crime — reported being attacked by a partner or acquaintance;
The statistics also include domestic violence crimes against children, where numbers are even more awful — for instance, the study shows that children, who experience domestic violence at home, become victims of rape/sexual assault crimes 15 times more often than other children. From 30% to 60% of intimate partner violence, perpetrators also assault children at home, which makes the problem of domestic violence even more critical than it is considered to be.
Looking at the numbers, we can state that the situation is out of control, and none of the measures taken in the last decades helped to reduce the number of crimes or provide current or potential victims with the proper level of security.
What Journalists Can Do to Deal with Domestic Violence
Let’s be honest — we can’t prevent all causes of domestic violence or make it disappear totally from our society. There will always be criminals, but our main objective is to limit their opportunities for committing crimes and provide women and children with the required level of security at all stages. So what can we do exactly, as journalists?
Make People Aware of the Problem
Everyone seems knowledgeable about the domestic violence problem, yet the fact is it is still a social taboo among some people to discuss such problems publicly. Some people still think that there is no way to take such issues out of the house, which makes victims feel as if there is no one who can help them. Add here the fear of being punished by the criminal — and you will get the situation we have today.
What we should do is provide people with relevant information about how bad the situation really is — with numbers, statistics and interviews with victims about how domestic violence has hurt their lives. The more people will know details, the more likely their position will change — and that’s what we need to achieve.
Show Real Cases
This is a difficult topic because most people who have been assaulted with domestic violence don’t want to talk about that — but there is a small percentage of those who are going to share their stories to prevent such awful crimes from happening again. When people see a real case of crime, they quickly change their position from neutral — because it is very difficult to ignore a real case of suffering.
By making such stories public, we let society feel how it works in real life and put aside their prejudices and false beliefs, thus also informing other women about what they should look at to avoid becoming victims of domestic violence.
Push the Officials
The government is an institution that works slowly — to make it take quick and effective measures, we require public support and resonance. Under social pressure, it is much easier to get required solutions from officials because ignoring a problem that is widely discussed can cause harm to politicians and their electoral prospects — thus, the more we discuss the problem and make it visible, the more we contribute to its resolution.
Empower Victims to Not Stay Silent
The biggest problem with domestic violence, as we have already stated, is silence — not only from the side of society but from the side of victims. Some of them fear rejection or condemnation, while others think it will destroy their reputation, and some just can’t talk because of fear. The fact is that we can’t resolve the issue we don’t know about, and our goal is to make it clear — the only way to stop domestic violence is to let people who can help know about it.
Share information about the institutions that help women in such cases — such as the National Domestic Violence Hotline, which offers ways to bring the police in if there is no way to call them directly. You have to share the thought that there is no lose-lose situation — there are always people who can help.
