Chapter 9
Here is a snippet from the activity guide (Mirror, Mirror, on the Wall . . . Where Does My Self Love Fall?) . . .
Abuse and violence may seem interchangeable, but understand their views are different.
Violence is a specific type of abuse that involves physical harm. One person may abuse
another without violence. Abuse takes on a variety of shapes and forms (e.g., mental,
emotional, physical, economical, etc.) but always the abuser seeks to take control over
another. When this occurs, there is an imbalance of power between the abuser and victim.
Acts of violence or abuse are not limited to criminals—the violator can live next
door or be a family member. Any form of abuse is damaging to the level it causes the
victim to devalue and doubt self. The abuser can then readily take control over his or
her victim. It’s important to know abuse and violence are choices, as are our responses
to that abuse or violence.
In this section, readers will familiarize themselves with levels of abuse and violence
and the various forms of how they are revealed. It’s known that abuse occurs when one
hurts another. Since the perpetrator doesn’t wear an abusive “name tag,” forms of abuse
can be hard to identify.
The Insight Discovery . . . .
Stop the Craziness – I’m Leaving
Stop the craziness you’re driving me to drink. Seemingly, drinking has taken a front row seat in many homes lately. Perhaps, the Coronavirus19 can be a contributing factor in its rise to fame. Since an outbreak of this disease, the excesses for home consumption of alcohol hasn’t crippled the spending market – but increased its sales.
The Shelter-N-Place order was designed to streamline the pandemic spread. In reality, when living with an abuser nowhere is safe for an intimate partner –not even their little ones. While partners are confined to spending more time together, the rise in domestic violence has hit a soaring all-time high. Was it a result of their emotions running high, all-day-confinement (isolation), or just plain fear of contracting the disease? There are all types of excuses that can be surmised. Regardless, of the factor the numbers of domestic perpetrators (abusers) have risen. Escaping violence takes precedence. Most importantly, families’ safety should always be a concern.
When experiencing violence, don’t allow yourself to be locked down and trapped by the abuser (male or female). Call the hotline number and find shelter elsewhere! The mind you save may be your own. Moreover, the life you save will be yours!
Statewide toll free = (800) 334-2836
Georgia number = (404) 209-0280
