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SURVIVOR SPEAKERS BUREAU
Intimate Partner Violence
also known as
DOMESTIC VIOLENCE
DEFINITION:
(A PATTERN of) abusive behavior in a relationship that is used by one partner to gain or maintain POWER and CONTROL over another partner*
Source
*National Domestic Violence Hotline
Myths vs. Facts
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Domestic violence is a private family matter
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Most of the time, domestic violence is not really that serious
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Domestic violence is an impulse control or anger management problem.
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Victims provoke their partners’ violence.
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Domestic Violence doesn't happen in my community.
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It is easy for a victim to leave their abuser.
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Keeping domestic violence secret helps no one, has been shown to harm children, incurs substantial costs to society, and serves to perpetuate abuse through learned patterns of behavior
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Domestic violence is an illegal act in the U.S. and is considered a crime with serious repercussions.
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Abusers act deliberately and with forethought. Abusers CHOOSE whom to abuse, and are selective in their abuse.
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Whatever problems exist in a relationship, the use of violence is never justifiable or acceptable. There is NO EXCUSE for domestic violence.
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Domestic violence happens to people of every educational and socioeconomic level. Domestic violence happens in all races, religions, and age groups. Domestic violence occurs in both heterosexual and same-sex relationships.
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Fear, lack of safe options, and inability to survive economically without their abuser prevent many survivors from leaving abusive relationships. Threats of harm, including death to the victim and/ or children, keep many battered survivors trapped in abusive situations. The most dangerous time for a survivor is when they attempts to leave the relationship, or when the abuser discovers they have made plans to leave
Downloadable Resources
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