One could maybe thank the corporate media that this news happened to pass under the radar. October is domestic violence awareness month and passes with more work to do than ever. My burning question is why hasn’t violence in many U.S. homes become a national crisis?
Domestic violence, one of the most blatant of human rights crises, is completely ignored, blotted out and covered up. It is often forgotten that violence is a recurring phenomenon. The U.S. has put more focus on wars than ever.
California’s dismal amount of domestic violence shelters and its people took another blow in July when Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger cut all funding for domestic violence shelters to balance the budget. As Casey Gwinn, former San Diego city attorney said, “The cost of one domestic violence murder in San Diego County will far exceed the money he will save by cutting the budgets of all the shelters.”
According to data provided by the Office of the Attorney General, one out of four families experience domestic violence. The Gay Men’s Domestic Violence project said one in four gay men are victims of domestic violence. While many cases go unreported, they affect the lives and well being of women and men including people of different socio-economic backgrounds and cultures.
National Crime Statistics Report states 90 percent of battered women reported that their children were present when they were beaten. These innocent and unconditionally trusting children will most likely begin to develop unhealthy ideas of conflict resolving. This in turn will create another generation of adults who turn to violence rather than dialogue as well as oppression rather than love.
The Bureau of Justice Statistics reports that 95 percent of all victims of domestic violence are women. Children who witness this violence in action are at risk of having a distorted perception of women and family structures. As a society who neglects this issue, we are allowing the possibility of another greatly misogynistic generation of men and women.
Until we start demanding a real representation and respect of women then we’ll never acknowledge how much these innocent people contribute to a healthy society. Our society will lack the mutual respect we need to leave violence in the past and focus on a more peaceful environment.
Domestic Violence awareness month is in full effect to bring awareness and community support to a vital issue but it will take far more than a month to gain safety and support for all victims of domestic violence.