Throughout the years, women have fought for equality. In 1850, women were known to be no more than just a housewife. In 1920, the country granted vote to women after more than thirty years of suffrage. In contrast to less than fifty years ago, women today make up almost half of all workers in the United States. Indeed, we, the female gender, have come a long way. But are we really done? If we look at this issue from the surface, one might say, “Yes we are. We can’t expect perfection but all we can has been done.” However, that is not right. Of course, we can’t expect an issue that has been present since the beginning of human history to be solved from one day to another. But we can’t also go to the other extreme by claiming that everything possible has been done. Not everything has been done and nothing will get done if we don’t get informed.
So, what is this persistent problem that society has put to aside? Domestic violence against women. Now, just because I’m saying “women” doesn’t mean that men don’t go through domestic violence too, because they do. However, the main issue is how we are tackling this issue.
Before we get into the call to action, what exactly is domestic violence and why is domestic violence specifically towards women a major issue? Well, the U.S. Department of Justice comments, “We define domestic violence as a pattern of abusive behavior in any relationship that is used by one partner to gain or maintain power and control over another intimate partner. Domestic violence can be physical, sexual, emotional, economic, or psychological actions or threats of actions that influence another person.” Yes, domestic violence covers many bases and is an issue because in order for the action to be defined as domestic violence, it has to be a pattern. Imagine that, it doesn’t happen once or even twice, the act of violence is so frequent it becomes a pattern. Also, in a recent survey taken by the same department proved that 76% of the time women were victim of domestic violence in comparison to men (24%). As seen, men do go are victimized but it is evident that there is a clear distinction as to which gender is been greatly hurt by this.
Many of us perhaps know that this is happening towards women yet no matter how many newspaper articles we read or news reports we watch on this, it hasn’t hit home. But have you ever thought what is would be like to be put into the scene as a woman? This is the key factor that many are missing. Many of these women are constantly being hurt by the same offender. And what if that mother has children? 3 children? 4? Or even, 5? You see, the thing is that as human beings we do not grasp many ideas from just textbook knowledge. We have to get into the shoes of the persona and wonder how would we feel? Have you ever thought what it would be like to live in your own house with the fear that tomorrow you may not be there. Aren’t our homes suppose to be a type of sanctuary for us? Have you ever thought of a bigger sized man than you, a women, coming and hitting you with all his might? Have you ever thought of how the woman felt after that night’s episode? How will she explain it to her family members and maybe even her own children?
The question now is, can she cover it all with make up? No, no she can not. You see that bruises outside she may be able to and pass it off. But it is the inside that she cannot cover up. Her emotional bruises are greater than the outside. A great woman once told me, “A handful of insults by the one you loved most hurts more than a punch from Goliath.” You see the thing is that, the emotions and self-esteem and everything else inside her are all destroyed. Everything.
Now, many might ask, why doesn’t she just take her kids, if she has, and leave? That is where we come in. With her will power gone from her with her constant abuses, she doesn’t see a future ahead without the violence. This new frame of life is not visible for her. On top of all that, imagine you are getting hit and hit and hit everyday by the same person, do you think that you will plan of defying him? Wouldn’t you be fearful of him? Replaying every episode again in your head is so traumatizing that you give up all hope and accept reality as it is. However for the outsider, is that the reality? No, no it is not.
We are the ones who are here to help women like this. They don’t know how to get out of this cycle even though the door is right in front of them. We need to reach out to these women. But here is the challenge, the women usually hide everything that is happening to them. They refuse to accept it. We need not to say that they are crazy and that they should leave that moment. However, we should start by just being an ear and a shoulder they can rely on. Obviously, for this the person has to be somewhat close to us. And this is the case because we have to start small. Start by our families. Don’t be ignorant to the realities right here in front of you. If and only if, we do not act and just be a bystander, I cannot guarantee you that women won’t suffer. In these situation, what a woman most needs is support from somewhere. We are here for them, but when the time is right we should start presenting to them the reality which is that the way that she is living is not the right one. Show her what life really is. Guide her out of there. Most of all, help her.
WORKS CITED
Morgan, Rachel. “Nonfatal Domestic Violence.” Bureau of Justice Statistics. 17 April 2014. Web. 4 June 2015. <http://www.bjs.gov/index.cfm?ty=pbdetail&iid=4984>
No comments:
Post a Comment