Understanding Domestic Violence and Abortion Access
The 1973 landmark Supreme Court decision in Roe v. Wade, which established the constitutional right to abortion, has played a significant role in protecting women’s reproductive autonomy for nearly half a century. Its overturning in 2022 led to the legalization of...
Understanding Reproductive Coercion
What Is Reproductive Coercion? Reproductive coercion is a form of intimate partner violence in which one partner exhibits controlling or manipulative behaviors aimed at influencing the other’s reproductive choices without their consent. It can involve various tactics,...
What Is the Psychological Makeup of an Abuser?
The psychology of domestic abusers, or the reasons someone might decide to harm their partner in a variety of ways, are complex in nature. No one factor causes someone to commit domestic abuse, and the profile of an abuser varies considerably. However, their behavior...
Understanding the Legal Consequences of Domestic Abuse
Domestic abuse is a serious human rights violation that affects millions of people worldwide. It is a pattern of behavior in which one partner seeks to control and intimidate the other partner through physical, emotional, financial, or sexual abuse. This is not only...
Resources for Abused Spouses
If you’re experiencing spouse abuse from your husband or wife, there are a wide variety of ways to get help. A simple hotline call or website can offer assistance with things like: • Understanding the warning signs of abuse • Planning for emergencies • Finding...
What To Do After Leaving an Abusive Relationship
Leaving an abuser is a major step toward re-establishing your well-being, and you’ve already shown a great deal of courage in doing so. You’ll still need to protect yourself and give yourself time to reclaim your life, however. Start by making a plan to help yourself...
Domestic Violence in Pop Culture: Red Flags in Classic Movies
Pop culture has a huge influence on our lives and behavior, from the things we like to the way we talk to our thoughts about the world. Love and relationships are no exception to that—many of our ideas about what intimate relationships and romance should look like are...
Types of Domestic Abuse
When we think of abusive relationships, we're most likely to think about physical violence that one partner commits against the other. While this type of abuse is a very real and serious problem, it's by no means the only type of abuse that can happen between two...
How To Prevent Domestic Violence
Even if you haven't experienced domestic violence yourself, you can still play a role in the prevention of domestic violence and helping survivors of domestic violence. ● If You See Something, Say Something. Often, we underestimate the power that we have as...
Common Myths About Domestic Abuse
In spite of how common domestic violence is (approximately 1 in 3 women and 1 in 4 men will experience it at some point in their lifetime), there's still a surprising number of widely believed myths surrounding domestic violence and domestic violence survivors. ...
How To Help Children Who Have Witnessed Domestic Violence
Domestic violence doesn't just impact the individual who experiences it. For the estimated 3.3-10 million children who witness domestic violence every year, that trauma can result in serious long-term consequences. The potential effects of domestic violence on...
The Importance of Safe and Supportive Housing for Domestic Violence Survivors
When it comes to escaping domestic violence, much of the conversation is centered around the abuse itself—how to identify abuse, how to leave an abusive partner, etc. While these things are important, it's equally important that we talk about what happens after...
Who Is Most Affected by Domestic Violence?
Domestic violence can happen to anyone, and survivors of domestic violence encompass every gender, race, ethnicity, and sexual orientation. However, some groups experience domestic violence at higher rates than others. Studying these demographic trends can help...
How To Leave an Abusive Relationship
Leaving an abusive relationship is rarely as easy or simple as most people would like to believe it is. According to the National Domestic Violence Hotline, it takes domestic violence survivors an average of seven attempts to leave their abusive partner before they...
What Is the Cycle of Abuse?
The cycle of abuse is a term that refers to the cyclical nature of domestic violence. While specific incidents of domestic violence are usually unexpected, in general, domestic violence often tends to follow predictable patterns. The Cycle of Abuse (also known as the...
Linking PTSD and Domestic Violence
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is defined as "a mental health disorder that some people develop after they experience or see a traumatic event." Typically, many people think of PTSD as being caused by life-threatening natural disasters or active combat. But in...
How To Heal the Trauma of Domestic Violence
Domestic violence is an extremely traumatic experience, and the repercussions (whether physical, emotional, or mental) can follow survivors for years to come. While recovering from trauma and living a happy, fulfilled life is possible with the right circumstances and...
How Are Substance Abuse and Domestic Violence Related?
Domestic violence is a complex phenomenon. When it occurs, it can rarely be attributed to a single cause; rather, abuse typically sits at the nexus of a complicated network of risk factors. One of the most common of those risk factors is substance use. Here, we'll...