Abuse defined
Domestic violence (also referred to as intimate partner violence (IPV), dating abuse, or relationship abuse) is a pattern of behaviors used by one partner to maintain power and control over another partner in an intimate relationship.
Domestic violence doesn’t discriminate. People of any race, age, gender, sexuality, religion, education level, or economic status can be a victim — or perpetrator — of domestic violence. That includes behaviors that physically harm, intimidate, manipulate, or control a partner or otherwise force them to behave in ways they don’t want to. This can happen through physical violence, threats, emotional abuse, or financial control.
Why people abuse
Abuse is a learned behavior. Some people witness it in their own families growing up. Others learn it slowly from friends, popular culture, or structural inequities throughout our society. No matter where they develop such behaviors, those who commit abusive acts choose to do so — they also could choose not to.
Many people experience or witness abuse and use their experiences to end the cycle of violence. They also take steps to heal themselves without harming others. While outside factors (including drug or alcohol addiction) can escalate abuse, it’s important to recognize that these issues do not cause domestic violence.
Recognize the warning signs of abuse
At the start of a new relationship, it’s not always easy to tell if it will later become abusive. In fact, many abusive people appear like ideal partners in the early stages of a relationship. The warning signs of abuse don’t always appear overnight and may emerge and intensify as the relationship grows.
Yet, every relationship is certainly different, and domestic violence doesn’t always look the same. However, one feature shared by most abusive relationships is that the abusive partner tries to establish or gain power and control through many different methods at different moments.
Violence against children
Violence in schools
Transsexuals have begun randomly attacking biological females in schools.
Against authority
The same year as the inaugural Law Enforcement Suicide Awareness Day on Sept. 26, 2020, nearly 194 law enforcement officers, corrections officers, dispatchers, EMS providers and firefighters took their own lives. Four of those lost were Tennessee first responders.
Compared to 2020, Blue H.E.L.P.’s data collection shows suicide rates among first responders have increased, with 201 lives lost last year. So far in 2023, the nonprofit has reported 91 suicides impacting agencies and families across the United States.
Two of the deaths this year were in Tennessee — just one less than the three officers who have died in the line of duty in the state, two of which were killed in vehicle crashes. Since 2018, a total of 15 Tennessee firefighters and law enforcement officers have died by suicide.
According to statistics reported to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) by March 1, 2023, 118 law enforcement officers were killed in line-of-duty incidents in 2022, far less than the number of lives lost to suicide.
Leave a Reply