America acknowledges October as Domestic Violence Awareness Month each year, advocating and raising awareness for victims of domestic violence. In October of 1981, the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence (NCAD) created a Day of Unity to connect advocates in local, state, and national governments to end violence against women and children. The Day of Unity was a day of activities and programs to end domestic violence. The day was also about mourning for those who died from domestic violence and celebrating those who survived. Six years later, in October of 1987, our nation observed the first Domestic Violence Awareness Month and established the first national domestic violence toll-free hotline. Two years later, in 1989, both the Senate and the House of Representatives of Congress resolved and passed a proclamation, known as Public Law 101-112, to designate October as National Domestic Violence Awareness Month (www.tcfv.org/awareness/).
The United States Department of Justice website defines domestic violence as a pattern of abusive behavior in any relationship used by one partner to gain or maintain power or control over another intimate partner. Domestic violence involves behaviors that intimidate, manipulate, humiliate, isolate, terrorize, threaten, blame, or hurt another person in a relationship. The website does not only define domestic violence as physical abuse. It also states this violence as sexual, emotional, economic, psychological, or technical abuse (www.justice.gov/ovw/domestic-violence).
The website defines sexual abuse as forcing any sexual contact or behavior without the partner’s consent. Sexual abuse includes marital rape, attacks on sexual parts of the body, or forcing sex on someone after physical violence has occurred.
The website defines emotional abuse as undermining an individual’s sense of self-worth or self-esteem. Emotional abuse is done through constant criticism, diminishing a partner’s abilities, name-calling, or damaging their relationship with children.
The website defines economic abuse as controlling or restraining a person’s ability to acquire, use, or maintain economic resources to which they are entitled, such as money, assets, credit, or financial information. Whether it is a parent or a legal guardian of a child, a spouse or a family member serving as a power of attorney, or a conservator of an infirm partner or a relative, economic abuse involves the unfair use of or restricting a person from their resources through coercion, fraud, or manipulation.
The website defines psychological abuse as elements that cause threats by intimidation. Psychological abuse includes threatening physical harm to partners and their friends, children, property, and pets. The website also consists of this abuse as forcing a partner to isolate from family, friends, school, and jobs.
The website defines technological abuse as misusing technology, such as internet-enabled devices, online spaces and platforms, computer programs, mobile devices, cameras, apps, and location-tracking devices. People misuse these technological devices to threaten, control, harass, exploit, and monitor another person.
The Lord sees the trouble of the afflicted (the physically, sexually, emotionally, economically, and technologically abused). He considers their grief and takes it in His hand. He also wants the victims to commit themselves to Him, which means to trust Him to care for them (Psalm 10:14, New International Version). The Lord will have compassion on the afflicted (Isaiah 49:13, New American Standard Bible). He will have mercy on them by providing them with justice (Psalm 72:4, New American Standard Bible). He provides justice for those afflicted with [domestic] violence by rising and rescuing them (Psalm 12:5, New Living Translation). He is a refuge and a Savior who saves people from violence (2 Samuel 22:2, New Living Translation). With this being said, I pray that all victims of domestic violence will call out to the Lord for help to come to Him for protection during October. He will redeem their lives from violence because their blood is precious in His sight (Psalm 72:14, New King James Version).
If you are a victim of domestic violence or know someone experiencing it, call the Alabama Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-650-6522 or the National Helpline at either 1-800-799-SAFE (7233) or 1-800-787-3224 (TTY)
Throughout October, may we all in America remember those who lost their lives to domestic violence! May God bring comfort and peace to families and friends grieving for their loss—Kenneth Sullivan.