Family Peace

[REWRITE AND PUT ON WEBSITE]The National Domestic Violence Hotline

At the National Domestic Violence Hotline… We believe that every caller deserves to be treated with dignity and respect. We believe that every family deserves to live in a world free from violence. We believe that safe homes and safe families are the foundation of a safe society.

Until the violence stops, the hotline will continue to answer…One Call at a Time. Help is available to callers 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Hotline advocates are available for victims and anyone calling on their behalf to provide crisis intervention, safety planning, information and referrals to agencies in all 50 states, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Assistance is available in English and Spanish with access to more than 140 languages through interpreter services. If you or someone you know is frightened about something in your relationship, please call the

National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-SAFE (7233) or TTY 1-800-787-3224.
Get Educated

Abuse is a pattern of coercive control that one person exercises over another. Battering is a behavior that physically harms, arouses fear, prevents a partner from doing what they wish or forces them to behave in ways they do not want.

Battering includes the use of physical and sexual violence, threats and intimidation, emotional abuse and economic deprivation.Get Educated

What is Domestic Violence?Domestic violence can be defined as a pattern of behavior in any relationship that is used to gain or maintain power and control over an intimate partner.

Abuse is physical, sexual, emotional, economic or psychological actions or threats of actions that influence another person. This includes any behaviors that frighten, intimidate, terrorize, manipulate, hurt, humiliate, blame, injure or wound someone.

Domestic violence can happen to anyone of any race, age, sexual orientation, religion or gender. It can happen to couples who are married, living together or who are dating. Domestic violence affects people of all socioeconomic backgrounds and education levels.

You may be in an emotionally abusive relationship if your partner:

Calls you names, insults you or continually criticizes you.

Does not trust you and acts jealous or possessive.

Tries to isolate you from family or friends.

Monitors where you go, who you call and who you spend time with.

Does not want you to work.

Controls finances or refuses to share money.

Punishes you by withholding affection.

Expects you to ask permission.

Threatens to hurt you, the children, your family or your pets.

Humiliates you in any way.

You may be in a physically abusive relationship if your partner has ever:

Damaged property when angry (thrown objects, punched walls, kicked doors, etc.).

Pushed, slapped, bitten, kicked or choked you.

Abandoned you in a dangerous or unfamiliar place.

Scared you by driving recklessly.

Used a weapon to threaten or hurt you.

Forced you to leave your home.

Trapped you in your home or kept you from leaving.

Prevented you from calling police or seeking medical attention.

Hurt your children.

Used physical force in sexual situations.

You may be in a sexually abusive relationship if your partner:

Views women as objects and believes in rigid gender roles.

Accuses you of cheating or is often jealous of your outside relationships.

Wants you to dress in a sexual way.

Insults you in sexual ways or calls you sexual names.

Has ever forced or manipulated you into to having sex or performing sexual acts.

Held you down during sex.

Demanded sex when you were sick, tired or after beating you.

Hurt you with weapons or objects during sex.

Involved other people in sexual activities with you.

Ignored your feelings regarding sex.

If you answered 'yes' to these questions you may be in an abusive relationship; please call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233 or your local domestic violence center to talk with someone about it. See Appendix for some resources.

http://www.ndvh.org/

 

 

[rewrite] replace in wikipedia

Denise Brown

Denise Brown is the older sister of late Nicole Brown Simpson, who was found murdered along with her friend Ronald Goldman. Her former husband, O. J. Simpson, was accused of the murder.

Born in Germany and raised in Southern California, Denise Brown led a life remarkable only in its normalcy until June 12, 1994 when her sister, Nicole Brown Simpson, was murdered. She is also committed to raising awareness against domestic violence - a crime that kills three women every day in the United States[citation needed].

In 1994, Brown established The Nicole Brown Charitable Foundation in Nicole's memory, to assist victims of domestic violence. She grew up in Dana Point, California along with her younger sisters Nicole, Dominique and Tanya Brown.

Since early 1995 Brown has traveled to various states speaking on the epidemic of domestic violence. She has addressed university student bodies, men in prison and in batterers' treatment programs, women at risk, church groups and various educational and legislative forums. She has helped raise funds for local shelters all across the country with her appearances, and has assisted in the success of a major project called the Vine System. She has reported that the program is an automated victim notification service of the release of batterers from jail or prison.

As part of her commitment, Brown has worked to help pass a variety of legislative solutions for domestic violence. One of her most important projects was to lobby on behalf of the Violence Against Women Act. Senator Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania contacted Brown and asked for her assistance on a portion of the bill that was being stalled in committee in the U.S. Senate. With a potential slashing of its federal allocation to domestic violence services, Brown testified to the U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee for increased funding for the Violence Against Women Act. After her testimony, that portion of the bill's funding was increased from eighteen million to thirty-two million dollars. U.S. Senators Biden and Hatch have cited Brown as "having done more for the issue of domestic violence than any other individual."

Brown has made a life-long commitment to educate the public as well as improve the quality of living for women and children who have been victims of domestic violence.

On May 16, 2004, the Associated Press reported that Denise Brown accused Marcia Clark, the lead prosecutor in the O.J. Simpson murder trial, of "trashing" her family in her book, Without a Doubt.From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Denise_Brown

 

[rewrite]

The fastest growing group of homeless

people in the United States is comprised of single women with two and three children. Before the 1980’s the homeless population was mostly comprised of men. They were hobos, alcoholics, drug addicts, or indivduals recently deinstitutionalized from mental hospitals. Within the last two decades, US society has begun to acknowledge the growing numbers of homeless women and children. Patriarchal attitudes have lead to the assumption that women are always finacially cared for by their husbands and in case of marital distress, their male kin or sisters' husbands. Society assumes that women are deeply embedded in the family and domestic sphere. Women are often referred to as the “hidden homeless” because society assumed homeless women must have been out of a home for committing adultery or being an unfit mother. Homeless women are rarely seen because they often find shelter with relatives, friends, or other homeless women. The majority of homeless women are on the streets because of divorce or escaping domestic abuse. Abandonment is also a key contributor to homelessness in women. After the Great Depression, divorce rates dropped but abandonment rates rose suggesting that couples simply split rather than pursue a costly divorce. Decline of the welfare state, and lack of affordable housing have also led to the increase of homelessness in women.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homelessness_in_women