Bringing awareness to domestic violence

By Glynis Vacek
Family violence, domestic assault, and intimate partner violence are words we hear in the news every day. Domestic violence has many names and many victims. It knows no boundaries. It doesn’t matter how much money you have, or where you live. It doesn’t matter what your race, religion, or sexual orientation is. Anyone can become a victim of domestic violence.
October is National Domestic Violence Awareness Month. The National Coalition Against Domestic Violence is one of many agencies that work together to provide statistics that are helpful in creating awareness. Some recent facts are:
• On average, nearly 20 people per minute are physically abused by an intimate partner in the United States. During one year, this equates to more than 10 million women and men.
• One in five women and one in seven men have been victims of severe physical violence by an intimate partner in their lifetime.
• On a typical day, there are more than 20,000 phone calls placed to domestic violence hotlines nationwide.
• Women between the ages of 18-24 are most commonly abused by an intimate partner.
McLeod Alliance for Victims of Domestic Violence provides services to people who are experiencing family violence in McLeod County and the surrounding area. Since Jan. 1, 2015, we have provided service to 163 victims of domestic violence; 107 of these were people were new clients who heard about our services and reached out for the first time. They heard about our services from law enforcement, medical professionals, co-workers, media, and from you. Please continue to speak out against domestic violence.
If you know someone who is being abused, encourage them to seek help. If you aren’t sure what you can do to help, please call us at 320-234-7933 or toll free at 1-800-934-0851. For information about our services, please visit our website at www.mcleodalliance.org, or our page on Facebook.
Glynis Vacek is the advocacy coordinator for McLeod Alliance for Victims of Domestic Violence.