Kunti Bentley and Charity Jordan Rex are dropping in to discuss October’s Domestic Violence Awareness Month (DVAM). This is a month dedicated to spreading awareness, sharing information, resources and prevention tips.
In this pop-up, Kunti and Charity share refreshers on the scope of domestic violence, discuss a domestic violence myth buster, and share resources and ways you can participate in DVAM activities.
The Scope of Domestic Violence
Domestic violence is the silent pandemic. It’s way more pervasive than most may realize: one in three women and one in four men experience domestic violence in the Ozarks. Last year, over 9,000 people sought help in the form of domestic violence services, but only 3,600 received services due to lack of resources. Missouri is in the top 10 in the nation for reported domestic violence cases and Springfield leads Missouri in those reported cases.
It’s been a busy year at Harmony House, with lots of people seeking services. But, people in the community have also been looking for education.
Nixa’s domestic violence shelter, Freedom’s Rest, recently closed their doors, leaving a gap in the community. Harmony House is already seeing some folks calling from that area who need to be connected to services.
Myth Buster
Many myths surround domestic violence and a prevalent question is, “why doesn’t a person in a domestic violence situation just leave?”
There are many barriers for survivors of domestic violence. One of the biggest is fear of retaliation from their abuser; not just against themselves, but against anyone they care about or love. It could be their children, friends, other family, coworkers, even their pets.
There’s a very real concern over retaliation. Leaving is the most dangerous time in a domestic violence situation. During this time, the risk of not just physical harm, but even fatality at the hands of that abuser, go up exponentially. Getting out of that situation doesn’t remove that concern. It doesn’t put them in safety just because they’ve gotten out. There is a lot of safety planning that has to be put in place.
We have to trust survivors and victims. They know their perpetrator more than anyone else. Being on the outside looking in, we can’t know everything that they’re facing. The survivor knows best what their situation is, what is going to exacerbate their situation, and what they need to do to keep themselves safe. Even though it might sound counterintuitive to go back or to stay, that might be the safest thing they can do to stay alive. It’s important to determine ways to support folks while they’re going through this.
DVAM Activities and Events
October 26: The MSU Student Government Association will observe Purple Thursday in Plaster Student Union. Meet up, sign a banner, and talk with students who are passionate about this topic.
Harmony House is celebrating iCare this month with lots of activities. More information is available at www.myharmonyhouse.org. Believe survivors. Model healthy relationships yourself. Be a support.
Resources
The Victim Center provides free services to victims of violent and/or sexual crimes through 24-hour crisis response, individual and group counseling, personal advocacy, and court support.
The Family Justice Center is dedicated to ending domestic violence and resulting victimizations through prevention and coordinated response by providing comprehensive client-centered services.
Harmony House offers a 24/7 hotline at 417-864-SAFE, or chat live online.
More resources are available on KSMU’s Brave Talks page in the individual episodes.
