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Tag: Domestic Violence

Domestic Violence

How to Tell If You Are a Victim of Domestic Abuse

According to the Centers for Disease Control, there are 1 in 3 women and 1 in 4 men who report having suffered from domestic abuse by a partner.  Domestic abuse is not only physical; you can also be victimized by emotional abuse — name-calling, criticism, harassment, threats, stalking, and other behavior meant to intimidate and control. If you think you may be a victim of domestic abuse, see if any of these five warning signs apply to you: Your partner constantly checks up on you. Abusers prefer to isolate their victims, so if you are feeling cut off from friends
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Evidence of Eggshells

They walk on the most fragile of eggshells. One uneasily shifted in her seat before pushing up her sleeves – revealing the black and blue polka dots on her upper arms. Another whispered to me with her eyes cast downward that she slept with a hammer underneath her pillow. And another told me of the time he kicked her when she was pregnant, leaving the beets she had been boiling in a mess all around the kitchen. I take in these stories that are soaked in shame, reported to me with fear. I brace myself for the helpless feeling that
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Punched in the Gut

We argued about the garlic in the guacamole. He stormed outside. I stood at the bathroom mirror focusing my shaking hand on my mascara when I heard the front door open and his footsteps on the stairs. He opened the bathroom door, punched me in the stomach, and calmly said, “Now you can tell your friends I’m abusive.” I was young but I was strong, confident, and independent. How was I reduced to justifying the purchase of a two dollar tube of lipstick and defending why I wanted to see a movie with a girlfriend?  How did I stay with
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