Domestic Violence
My Sister’s Place works with the following definition of domestic violence in mind;
“Domestic Violence is violence occurring between people living in the same household. The violence is about power and control. It encompasses all aspects of physical, sexual, financial and emotional/psychological abuse arising from threatening behaviour and minor assaults, to serious injury and even death. It must be stressed that it is overwhelmingly women and children who are victimised by the violence and men who are the perpetrators.
We also recognise that this can include forced marriage, female genital mutilation (FGM) and so-called ‘honour crimes’”.
There are many myths around domestic violence any in the main these are used by the perpetrators of the abuse. These myths serve 3 functions;
- Blame the victim
- Excuse/justify their behaviour
- Minimise the abuse.
Domestic violence is rarely a one of event, it is a crime that frequently takes place behind closed doors and effects on both women and children.
At least 1 in 4 women experience domestic violence in some time in their lives and less than half of these incidents are reported to the police.
In Britain a woman is killed by a violent partner every three days
(Home Office 2007).
Domestic violence has the highest repeat victimisation rate of any crime.
