And, Just When you thought October was full of doom and gloom. How many of you knew?

That October in the US is Domestic Violence Awareness Month?

www.now.org...
www.amazon.com...
www.thehotline.org...

conquerdomesticviolence.com...

C'mon ATS, lets visit real issues.

The world was going to end how many different ways in October?

How about thinking of for whom it has!!!!!!

It's also breast cancer awareness month.

So go get your checkups ladies.

I am going to add, that people need to visit this seriously. 1 in 4 women will have domestic violence be a part of their lives.....and then there are those that are never counted.

If you are a victim of domestic violence, or know somebody who is, in the US, please give them this phone number: 1-800-799-7233.

Changing one life, at a time!

Originally posted by againuntodust
It's also breast cancer awareness month.

So go get your checkups ladies.

Yes, and thanks for that note. Extremely important also.. A pink ribbon denotes support for that. How many people have notice purple ribbons?

That denotes support for domestic violence victims and supporters.

or better yet if you have domestic violence issues, call mayhem.

Originally posted by Alda1981
or better yet if you have domestic violence issues, call mayhem.

Nope. Epic fail. This is not something to joke about. What if this was your sister, mother, cousin?

It's your mindset that will never let people heal, and get the help they need with DV issues.

This is really important. People are now tryinfg to fix the world so to speak, without looking at what is in their own home, or backyard.

How as a civilisation can we move forward when 1 in 4 women experience domestic violence or domination?

Originally posted by supine
This is really important. People are now tryinfg to fix the world so to speak, without looking at what is in their own home, or backyard.

How as a civilisation can we move forward when 1 in 4 women experience domestic violence or domination?

How about all the sissy boys who get their ass kicked by their fat hostel wives? This is low on the scale of things to worry about in this world, i could think of at least a dozen other things to post a PSA about right now other then this.

By the way, the headline for this thread is a little misleading.

Originally posted by discharged77

How about all the sissy boys who get their ass kicked by their fat hostel wives? This is low on the scale of things to worry about in this world, i could think of at least a dozen other things to post a PSA about right now other then this.

Where are are the statsics for "sissy boys"?

Shut up and and go get fatter unless you want to be counted in domestic abuse totals.

Sometimes you get what you ask for by seld labeling.

Originally posted by supine
I am going to add, that people need to visit this seriously. 1 in 4 women will have domestic violence be a part of their lives.....and then there are those that are never counted.

If you are a victim of domestic violence, or know somebody who is, in the US, please give them this phone number: 1-800-799-7233.

Changing one life, at a time!

Let's not forget that men, too, are often victims of domestic violence... and are far and away less likely than women to report it (and even the rates of those women who report aren't that high!).

Men also need to realise that it's not "manly" to tolerate violence in a relationship. It's not okay just because a woman is the perpetrator. Violence in relationships is wrong no matter who raises the fist. Period.

Originally posted by discharged77
By the way, the headline for this thread is a little misleading.

How is it missleading?

This is something real, it isn't a prophesy, it has nothing to do with OWS, other than people being able to keep
together on the home front.

If you can't keep it together with your beloved partner what else is there?

Originally posted by Awen24


Let's not forget that men, too, are often victims of domestic violence... and are far and away less likely than women to report it (and even the rates of those women who report aren't that high!).

Men also need to realise that it's not "manly" to tolerate violence in a relationship. It's not okay just because a woman is the perpetrator. Violence in relationships is wrong no matter who raises the fist. Period.

I agree with you wholeheartedly.

People need to be concerned with issues on the homefront as a team.

Sometimes it takes an admission that will make or break it.

I see your point.

The whole point to this thead, is ro point out issues right in our own backyard.

However you believe it to be, right or wrong, it is what it is and cannot be ignored. So, I am sad to see so many doomsday predictions get stars and flags over real issues.

If folly for issues to close to home are not part of ATS, then I am in the wrong place, because what I present is real, even in 2011.

To hide it, and not address it is a conspiracy to me.
]

Hey angry feminist!!! Don't forget the sissy boys, they count too. Even though decades of anti male BS has been spread by feminist hate groups to make all men look like savages. By posting this and not including all people of domestic abuse in your post you show your ignorance of the issue.

Originally posted by discharged77
Hey angry feminist!!! Don't forget the sissy boys, they count too. Even though decades of anti male BS has been spread by feminist hate groups to make all men look like savages. By posting this and not including all people of domestic abuse in your post you show your ignorance of the issue.

Not at all. Men apply too although it is rare, according to statistics. I am in no way angry, and have spent a lot of time in pursuit of trying to understand the mind of an abuser.

It has nothing to do with gender but you might be one, based on your response, You have a clear cut issue with women.

Well, here. Let me contribute my own story.

I'm 30 years old... and have been married twice. My first marriage took place when I was 21 years old... to a woman who, up until the day we married, had been relatively balanced and normal.

The day of our wedding... the night of, in fact, that all changed. We had a late wedding... got married around 7pm (at night, fairly lights and candles, all very nice) and didn't end up arriving home until about 1am. We were both exhausted... so we did what newly married couples do, then went to bed.

The following day, she woke up and we had a huge argument... namely because she said that we should have had sex multiple times that night, and didn't... my response? "We were both exhausted, you fell asleep almost straight away after the first time, and I didn't want to wake you."
That resulted in the first instance of violence in our marriage (punches to my chest etc.) and her throwing her wedding ring on the floor and throwing the first adult tantrum I'd ever seen (at that point).

We stayed married for five years. During that time, the violence and abuse was a daily occurrence. We had a daughter in the first year of marriage, who, thankfully, remained relatively untouched (in a physical sense - God knows the emotional damage was severe) from the abuse until she was four years old.

For those five years, I stayed in that marriage, and that relationship, for a number of reasons. First, as a Christian, I'd often stated that I didn't believe in divorce. I didn't then, and in many respects, still don't... though I believe that there are exceptions, and that violence is one of them. That's a personal conviction though, and not something I expect others to follow. The other side of it, however, is that... the violence and abuse was contained entirely within my family. My ex was a very good actor. Nobody else knew what she was like; the emotional abuse, the physical abuse, the neglect of our daughter. I felt (at the time), as a husband, as a man, that I needed to keep my family together. I desperately wanted to be and stay married, though at that time, I have to admit, I didn't want to be married to her. Her violence had broken the bond between us long ago... though I still loved marriage itself, I didn't love mine.

I didn't ever tell anybody about the physical or emotional abuse that took place within that marriage. Not until it was over. This was partly because I felt that, as a man, I should be strong enough to "take it" and still hold my marriage and life together. On the outside, I did manage to do that. Nobody at work ever knew what was going on. None of my friends did. My family didn't, even. But my home life was a complete and utter mess. Numerous times I contemplated suicide... but my spiritual conviction and belief in Christ conflicted with that... and I couldn't bring myself to that point, so instead I begged God to take my life, or let me die, or something, anything, to end the pain and suffering I was going through.

... in the end, my ex forced the issue. One night, I arrived home from work to find that she and my daughter weren't home. When they arrived home, she walked in through the front door, punched me in the face repeatedly (which I just stood there and "took") and started yelling. Our daughter was crying, screaming in the car. I said "wait. Let me get her, settle her in her room, and then we can talk". I went outside to get my daughter, and as I stepped back in through the front door, my ex swung a punch at me that landed square in that little girl's face.

I lost it. I put my daughter in her room, on her bed, and physically picked up my ex and carried her outside. I went back inside and locked all the doors... and didn't let her back in.

...even then I forgave her (she begged)... and it wasn't until another, very similar event, a few days later, that I finally took my daughter and left.

I guess what I'm trying to say is this. Domestic violence comes in many, many forms. Being a victim of domestic violence isn't an indicator of weakness on your part. I don't fit that mould; not physically, not mentally, nor in any other aspect. I don't fit that stereotype at all... and yet it happened to me.

It's not a sign of weakness for a man to admit that he's been in a relationship like this. I didn't stand there and take that abuse for five years because I was weak; I did so because I felt I had to be strong... mostly for my daughter. I was wrong. My "strength" meant that my daughter had to endure watching that abuse, and endure living in an unhappy home, for far too long.

Things are very different now... but that's my story.
If anyone is in a situation like that and needs advice, or even just an ear...
you know where to find me, feel free to contact me.

Ben.