Violence Against Women: What to do?

Your partner apologizes and claims that the hurtful behavior will not happen again; however, you fear it’ll. Sometimes you wonder whether you imagine the abuse, yet the emotional or physical pain you feel is real. If it sounds familiar, you might be experiencing domestic violence.

The UN has described the worldwide upsurge in domestic abuse as a”shadow pandemic”. It is thought cases have increased by 20% during the lockdown at Covid times, as many individuals are trapped at home with their abuser.

Violence against women often results in injuries and acute physical, mental, reproductive, and sexual health conditions, which include but are not limited to sexually transmitted infections, HIV, and unplanned pregnancies. In extreme situations, violence against women could lead to death.

The impacts of violence are very often long-lived. Violence- in all its forms- could strongly impact a person’s well-being through the entire remainder of her lifetime. This is unacceptable, and the dangers of abuse that women and their children face can’t be ignored. 

Here are some tips from empowered women who successfully battled and won against domestic abuse:

#1. Recognize that domestic violence exists

Domestic violence — also called intimate partner violence — does occur between people in an intimate relationship. Domestic violence can take many shapes, including emotional, physical, and sexual abuse and threats of harm. Domestic violence may happen in same-sex or heterosexual relationships.

Abusive relationships consistently demand an imbalance of power and control. An abuser utilizes impolite, hurtful words, and behaviors to control her or his partner.

It might not be simple to determine domestic violence initially. When some relationships are clearly abusive from the outset, misuse usually starts subtly and gets worse over time.

You May Be experiencing domestic violence in case you’re in a relationship with somebody shows the following:

• Insults you, disrespects you, calls you names, or puts you down.

• Prevents or discourages you from going to school or work or even viewing family or friends.

• Attempts to control how you invest cash, where you proceed, what medicines you choose or what you wear.

• Acts jealous or possessive or always frees you from being unfaithful.

• Gets easily mad and untamable when drinking alcohol or using medication.

• Tries to control you to see a Medical Care provider.

• Threatens you using a weapon, physical strength, and violence.

• Any form of a physical attack like hitting, kicking, shoving, slapping, and choking you or otherwise hurts you, your kids, or your pets.

• Uses force for you to have sex or engage in sexual acts against your will.

• Blames you because of his or her abusive behavior or informs you that you simply deserve it.

• Threatens to tell friends, family, colleagues, neighborhood buddies, sexual orientation, or gender identity.

#2. Do Not Take The Blame, it’s never your fault.

You may well not be prepared to seek out help because you believe you are at least partially to blame for the abuse from your relationship. Reasons could include:

Your partner makes you feel responsible for the violence in the relationship. They will play mind games with you and blame you for all their actions. Abusive partners will never take responsibility for their actions.

Your partner only exhibits abusive behavior with you. Abusers are concerned with outward appearances and may appear enchanting and stable to those outside of one’s relationship. This can enable you to feel that your actions can only be explained by something you’ve done.

Therapists and doctors who see you or with your partner haven’t discovered a problem. If you do not share with your physician or other healthcare providers your domestic violence situation,  they might just take note of unhealthy routines in your thinking or behavior, which often leads to a misdiagnosis. Exposure to romantic partner violence also increases your risk of mental health conditions such as depression, stress, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

If healthcare providers concentrate on your symptoms, this may worsen your fear that you’re accountable for your own abuse of your relationship.

You’ve acted out verbally or against your abuser, screaming, beating, or even hitting against them during conflicts. You may worry that you’re abusive; however, it’s far more probable that you behaved in self-defence or severe emotional distress. Abusers often use such incidents to manipulate you, using them as proof that you’re the abusive partner.

If you have trouble identifying what’s happening, have a step back, and look at more substantial routines in your romance. Then, review the signals of domestic violence. Within a violent relationship, the person who regularly employs these behaviors is the abuser. The individual on the receiving end has been mistreated.

#3. In the event you feel your home isn’t a secure place, find the courage to Move Out

If you’re experiencing violence, it can be handy to get in touch with family, friends, and neighbours, seek out support from the hotline, or, in case safe, from online services for survivors of violence. Figure out if local services (e.g., shelter, counselling) are available and reach out to them whenever convenient, this includes:

• Pinpointing a neighbor, friend, relative, colleague, or shelter to go into if you need to leave the house instantly for safety.

• Have a policy for how you will exit your house safely and how you’ll succeed in case of a threat. (e.g., transport).

• Make sure to keep your essential items (e.g., identification records, phone, money, drugs, and clothes) available, and also a set of telephone numbers in case of an emergency.

• If you can, develop code with a trusted neighbor so they may come to your aid if there is an urgent situation.

If you are married and have already decided to free yourself from an abusive or unhealthy marriage, get help from Attorneys at law who specialize in family law to make the process easier for you. For any urgent medical-related concerns, make sure to call for an emergency, or contact your country’s 911. If you think you need any other support, contact a technical service or a health provider.

#4. Prepare a strong, healthy mind

As much as you can –  reduce sources of stress. Attempt to keep a routine daily and engage in physical activity to keep your body healthy. Also, sleep is important, so make sure you get enough sleep and rest. 

Use meditation exercises that help you relax (e.g., slow breathing, meditation, and progressive muscle relaxation, grounding exercises to alleviate stressful thoughts and feelings. Participate in actions that, in the past, have contributed to managing adversity.

Also, don’t think that your past abusive relationship applies to all. In your pursuit of a strong and healthy mind, consider adopting a dating success mindset. This mindset emphasizes positivity, self-confidence, and a proactive approach to romantic endeavours. Just as you would nurture your mental health, cultivate a mindset that fosters success and fulfilment in your dating life.

Look for a trained health and fitness care provider for ailments and symptoms, including injuries that need medical care. In any case, you have restrictions on movement and pressure on well-being, it may be hard to get healthcare in person currently. In this case, find out what’s offered in your area and search solutions, including advice and service provided by phone or on the web.

#5. Learn to control your emotions

In case you feel yourself becoming angry or overly upset, step away into another room when you can or outside to get a deep breath.

• Count to breathe in and out, and soon you are feeling calmer. Count down from 10, or do anything else that may help you stay calm.

• Speak to a trusted friend, relative, or religious leader and, when necessary, seek help from local health services or specialized services in the event available.

• Realize that everybody in your household is undergoing stress in this period.

• Demonstrate patience and kindness in your words and activities.

• Refrain from alcohol consumption as much as possible. Drinking cannot help you forget and can just fuel up the negative thoughts you are having.

The current measures to deal with the violence, such as verbal, physical, mental and financial instability are likely to trigger mental, emotional, and psychological problems. Remember that being stressed can be normal, and you can always control how you respond. Find ways to ensure you manage your stress accordingly and safely to you and your family members. Try to be kind to yourself, your partner, kids as well as anybody else in the family.

Break the cycle of Abuse

In case you’re in an unfortunate situation, you may realize that it’s like a cycle:

• Your abuser threatens you and shows violence.
• Your abuser strikes and hits you again.
• Your abuser is sorry for what he/she has done promises to change, and offers presents.
• The cycle repeats itself.
• The average of the violence gets frequent, severe, and life-threatening over time.

The longer you stay with your partner in a defined abusive relationship, the more the psychological and physical toll. You might become nervous and depressed or begin to doubt your capacity to take care of yourself. You might feel paralyzed or helpless.

After we can prevent violence or support women survivors of violence, we can help to safeguard women’s human rights, and promote physical and mental wellness insurance and well-being for women during their lives. This also helps to alleviate pressure on stretched essential public services, including the health system.

About Dmitriy Borshchak

Dmitriy Borshchak, the founding attorney of The Law Office of Dmitriy Borshchak, is a committed family lawyer based in Columbus. While initially venturing into a brief career in medicine, Dmitriy discovered his genuine passion in the legal arena. He is dedicated to assisting clients, guiding them through challenging situations, and providing expert legal support.