The After Effects

Out of fifty-nine female staff and students at Vanguard School fourteen of them responded about their experiences with abuse in a relationship.  "It's disturbing to see how badly some young women are treated in society today," said, Vanguard student, Maxene Reed.

Vanguard student, Evey Dudek, said about a previous abusive relationship,"Our breakup was us getting into a fistfight in an empty parking lot, it was so bad his friends had to pull him off me. It was a good basic summary of how our relationship was."  

 Jane Ball, who counsels women who are involved in domestic violence cases, from the agency Life Span said, " Emotional abuse can be the most damaging to women. Some women tolerate emotional abuse for years. They feel they are stuck in the relationship."  An anonymous Vanguard student said, " My boyfriend always ignored me or put me down. He treated me as if I was lower then him.  It made me feel like I wasn't good enough for him."

A Vanguard student said, " My boyfriend was so sweet at first. He would walk me home and buy me things. When I found out I was pregnant I moved in with him and that’s when everything started to change. We started getting into fights. It became physical. He used to punch me in my legs, pull my hair, push me, and put a pillow over my face. One time he threatened to kill my baby. I used to be scared of him. I would hide in the closet. But now I know that I am not taking crap from no one, especially a guy."

In Hollywood things aren't as glamorous as they appear to be. Last month recording artist Chris Brown assaulted his girlfriend music star Rihanna. According to FOXnews.com, "Brown allegedly tried to shove Rihanna out of the car, began punching her even as blood filled her mouth. And then police say he bit her. When Rihanna called her assistant to tell her to have police come to her home, Brown allegedly threatened to kill her."  Everyone is talking about this case of domestic violence because it involves two famous artists. The sad thing about this situation is that it happens everyday to women all over the world and that's the depressing reality.

An anonymous person from Vanguard School when asked how the abuse affected her life said, " It made me stronger. I notice the signs in other women and try to help them. It helped me make better choices in future relationships."

Many girls that are or have been in abusive relationships feel as if it was there fault.  An anonymous Vanguard student, said, " I felt like I was a loser, like I was nothing. It really affected my self-esteem."   

To add on another Vanguard student, said, "I think about it a lot and it just makes me feel helpless sometimes."

Jane Ball, a counselor at Life Span, said, "Domestic Violence is all about power and control." "We started dating last February and everything was fine. Then he just changed and started getting violent. Then he hit me, and all I really remember is feeling scared because I didn't know him really well or what he was capable of," said a Vanguard about a previous abusive relationship.

On http://www.now.org/issues/violence/stats.html "According to the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, women experience about 4.8 million intimate partner-related physical assaults and rapes every year. Less than 20 percent of battered women sought medical treatment following an injury."  

Violence against women is considered normal behavior in many countries. It affects the lives of women worldwide. It violates the human rights of women and often results in serious injury or death.  A lot of the time justice does not prevail, violence does. Behind all the statistics are real women. Every second of every day these women are crying out. We need to lend our ears to the cause. 

Don't hesitate! If you need help or just want someone to listen call one of these hotlines:

National Domestic Violence Hotline 

1800-799-SAFE

The Battered Women's Justice Project

1-800-903-0111

National Coalition Against Domestic Violence

1-303-839-1852

Article By: Jaclyn Cimarusti 

Photo courtesy of http://www.adrants.com