Intimate Partner Violence

The whole Chris Brown beating Rihanna story may be yesterday's news, but violence against intimate partners is not. I don't believe that any man should hit a woman, or vice versa really. What makes me the most angry about this situation is the number of people who have said to me, "I wonder what she did to deserve it."

I never once thought about that before someone asked me. Probably because I know that often if someone hits a woman like that, he or she may have a temper streak that is not often warranted, or perhaps just learned from parental modelling. I suppose it is understandable to wonder why he was so angry, but I don't think it is okay to wonder "if she deserved it."

Does she have to have done something wrong? She could have been yelling and screaming, accusing and cussing, or even cheating and I would STILL say that she did not deserve to be hurt by her ANYONE, male or female, like that. Violence is not okay regardless of who does it.

It is my personal wish that Rihanna would speak out about her incident. I understand that now may not be the time, but I hope that one day she will be a positive role model for men and women who have been abused by family members and lovers.

- 65% of women physically assaulted by an intimate partner report having been assaulted multiple times by the same partner.
- Domestic violence is primarily a crime against women; however, men can be abused as well. In 2001, women accounted for 85% of the victims of intimate partner violence and men accounted for approximately 15%.² Gay men, lesbians, bisexual and transgender persons are just as likely as heterosexual women to be abused by their partner.
- Intimate partner violence affects people of all ages. Women 16 to 24 experience the highest rate of intimate partner violence; approximately one in five female high school students’ reports being physically and/or sexually abused by a dating partner. Nearly 6% of couples 60 and older experienced physical violence in their relationship within the past year, and of these, 40% reported the first violent incident occurred at least 25 years ago.

These statistics can be found at: http://www.ctcadv.org/WhatisDomesticViolence/MythsFacts/tabid/168/Default.aspx

-Mea