Domestic abuse

I spent some time watching the Lifetime Channel last weekend. For those of you who arent familiar with it, its a channel for women. My son always teases me because everytime im watching a movie on that channel, someone is going thru some type of crisis. I have to laugh...he's right. The theme last weekend was domestic abuse. I can understand what some women go thru on one level. I was never physically abused, but I have been emotionally and mentally. I tried to grasp the reality that this thing happens all the time. Women with and without children find themselves is situations that they cant seem to get out of. Either for financial reasons or because they are in fear for their life. It appeared that the women in the 2 movies I watched received little to no help from the justice system and I know, just from dealing with people that have been thru this, there was alot of truth there. Most of time the police do nothing until someone is put in the hospital. Restraining orders are a joke. What are you suppose to do when the person you're afraid of has you in a death grip, threatening to end your life?? Show him a piece of paper that states he needs to stay 500 feet away from you?? How do we get ourselves in situations like this? When it happens the first time, that should be a tell tale sign to run...but we dont. Instead, we listens to promises of change. "It will never happen again", is a phrase that becomes edged in our brains...then, we start to believe that. They beat you down until you lose site of who you are. I want you to know that no woman deserves this. No one should have so much power over you that you feel like a whipped dog dreading each day because you know the hope for better things is only a dream. There are organizations that help battered women. They get you to a safe house, and in some cases, help to change your identity. Dont wait until its too late.



If you or someone you know is a victim of domestic abuse, please call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-SAFE (7233) or TTY 1-800-787-3224.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. I hope this information helps.