It’s time to say eNOugh.

Domestic Violence Information

Domestic violence is the willful intimidation, physical assault, battery, sexual assault, and/or other abusive behavior as part of a systematic pattern of power and control perpetrated by one intimate partner against another. It often includes physical violence, sexual violence, psychological violence, and emotional abuse. The frequency and severity of domestic violence can vary dramatically; however, the one constant component of domestic violence is one partner’s consistent efforts to maintain power and control over the other.

– From The National Coalition Against Domestic Violence.

Nationally, almost one in four women and one in seven men have had physical violence inflicted upon them by an intimate partner. Individuals who have a higher risk of becoming a victim of domestic violence include those who:

  • identify as female
  • live in communities with fewer resources
  • experience societal oppression or marginalization
  • were exposed to violence in their family of origin

Currently, The North Carolina Coalition Against Domestic Violence tracks deaths which are a result of intimate partner violence. Our annual list honoring victims includes both victims killed directly by their current or former intimate partner as well third parties who are killed as a result of intimate partner violence. Intimate partners include both same-sex and opposite sex intimate partners.  

Domestic Violence Homicides in North Carolina

 

But domestic violence can happen to anyone. You can learn more about various domestic violence risk factors here.

While the consequences of domestic violence are certainly far-reaching and pervasive, the signs can sometimes be hard to identify. Victims are often isolated from people outside the abusive relationship, and not all people react to abuse in the same ways. People’s individual responses vary depending on the frequency and severity of abuse, the survivor’s personality and coping skills, and the level of social support and financial resources one can leverage in order to leave an abusive relationship.

Domestic violence affects a survivor’s relationships with friends, family members, neighbors, children, and even co-workers. Experiencing violence from a current or former intimate partner has profound effects on one’s emotional, psychological, and physical health, career success, and financial and housing stability. For these reasons, it’s important that we all help to identify and put an end to domestic violence in order to assist survivors in their recovery.

Information provided by The North Carolina Coalition Against Domestic Violence.