On the night of March 9, 1977, in Dansville, Michigan, Francine Hughes walked up the stairs of her family’s home to a room where her husband lay sleeping on the bed. She hesitated for a moment and then she set the bed and her husband on fire.
That single act, and the film that followed, “The Burning Bed,” released in 1984, brought the horrors of domestic violence into the public forefront.
Since then, domestic violence has become a nationwide pandemic with women of all ages, races, and social levels falling victim to abuse at the hands of a husband, a boyfriend or an ex. Domestic violence once again took center stage in February 2009 when R&B singer, Rihanna, was violently assaulted by her then-boyfriend and fellow entertainer, Chris Brown.
But for years domestic violence was discussed in a hushed tone as women suffered alone and in private – too embarrassed and too scared to come forward. But with the media publicity brought upon such high profile cases of abuse, such as that of superstar performer, Rihanna, many women are now coming forward to tell their tale of abuse.
In fact, every October, victims and advocates come together, to help and support one another during Domestic Violence Awareness Month. This commemoration evolved from the first Day of Unity observed in October 1981, by the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence. Their intent was to connect battered women’s advocates across the country who were working to end violence against women and their children. Purple ribbons worn in October symbolize support for victims, honor for those slain and prayers for current victims.
The latest statistics
According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), domestic violence, also referred to as Intimate Partner Violence (IPV), is a serious, preventable public health problem affecting more than 1.5 million Americans a year, or more than 10 percent of the U.S. population. Some even estimate that more than 78 percent of all women, at one time or another, have been pushed, slapped or hit by a partner.
Domestic violence has risen to all new level with the escalation of murder-suicides, wherein the aggressor kills the intimate partner and then themselves. Also on the rise is what many agencies refer to as the “family annihilator,” where the man kills his wife or intimate partner, their children, and other family members, before killing himself.
The CDC defines domestic violence or Intimate Partner Violence as abuse that occurs between two people in a close relationship. The term “intimate partner” includes current and former spouses as well as dating partners. Intimate Partner Violence is also a continuation of abuse ranging from a single episode of violence to an ongoing term of abuse.
Statistically, women experience more than 4.8 million domestic violence related attacks and rapes each year. And while recent reports confirm that domestic abuse against men has soared, 85 to 95 percent of all domestic violence victims are female.
The CDC also reported in 2005, that there were more than 1,500 domestic violence related murders each year, and a staggering percentage of those took place in the state of Mississippi. In fact, Mississippi now ranks number five in the nation with the highest number of domestic violence homicides, it was previously number two.
Many areas of domestic abuse
Categorically, domestic violence is classified into four areas: Physical abuse, sexual abuse, threats and emotional abuse. The most common and recognizable sign of domestic violence is physical abuse where the victim is hit, kicked, burned, punched or assaulted by other physical means.
Sexual abuse is forcing a partner to participate in a sexual act without his or her consent. Threats consist of physical or sexual abuse using words, gestures, weapons or other means to communicate the intent to cause harm. And emotional abuse is threatening a partner or his or her possessions or loved ones, or harming a partner’s sense of self-worth. Other examples include stalking, name-calling, intimidation, or not allowing a partner to see friends and/or family members.
Heather Wagner, Special Assistant Attorney General for the state of Mississippi, confirms that domestic violence most often begins with emotional abuse, and that many victims can experience several types of domestic aggression at the same time.
“We talk about emotional and verbal abuse being a big part of domestic abuse,” Wagner said, “although not necessarily rising to the level of a crime. But quite often in abusive relationships, it doesn’t start out physical. It begins psychologically with the verbal and emotional abuse and it progresses to the physical expression of violence. But the victim will carry the effects of emotional and verbal abuse a lot longer than the physical aspect.”
Because of the constant bullying, victims of domestic violence often suffer from low self-esteem and may have a hard time trusting others and developing future relationships. The anger and stress that victims feel may lead to eating disorders, depression and in extreme cases, suicide. Victims of domestic violence are also more likely to develop harmful habits such as smoking, alcohol abuse, drug abuse or sexual promiscuity.
Domestic violence can have long term, if not life-long effects for the victim. The longer the victim is abused, the more serious the effects become. Some physical assaults can be minor in nature such as cuts, scratches, bruises or welts, while more serious assaults can result in long term disabilities including broken bones, internal bleeding and head trauma.
Awareness and documentation of domestic violence differ from country to country, and estimates are that only about a third of all domestic violence cases are actually reported in the United States and in the United Kingdom.
The Mississippi legislation amended several laws this year regarding domestic violence that would not only protect the victims of domestic violence but would make the perpetrators of this crime more accountable for their actions.
Laws to help the victim
“These measures are just one more step we can take to protect Mississippi victims,” said Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood. “And our goal has been to establish some uniform protective orders and laws that allows victims easier access to the courts.”
Among the bills adopted this March was Senate Bill 2925 that exempts victims of stalking and sexual assault, who are not in a relationship with their offender, from the payment of any fees relating to filing an action in court against their offender.
An amendment to Section 99-5-37 of the Mississippi Code requires that any individual arrested for violating a protection order for domestic abuse must have a mandatory appearance before a judge before bail can be granted.
An amendment to Section 99-3-7 of the Mississippi Code allows law enforcement agents to file a complaint against the offender on behalf of a victim of domestic violence.
Law enforcement agencies applaud this amendment because many victims of domestic violence fail to report their abuse to police, friends and/or family members thinking that others won’t believe them. And for the women that do come forward and file charges against their attackers, a large percentage of those fail to follow through once their case and their partner comes before the courts.
William Blackmon, a domestic violence investigator for the district attorney’s office in Grenada, said that the state legislation sought to put an end to that by amending Section 99-3-7.
“It’s very common in domestic violence for a woman to drop the charges,” Blackmon said. “And that’s one of the reasons why the domestic violence laws keep changing. But when the policeman called to the scene of a domestic violence assault signs the papers, it takes the pressure off the victim because they can’t drop what they didn’t sign.”
Blackmon has personally seen the long term effects that domestic violence can have on the community, the victim and their family. In part two of our series, an actual victim speaks out about her attack.
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