Posts

Domestic Violence and Alcohol (Guest Post)

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Hello Readers and Fellow Advocates, Today, I have another Guest Post. I am excited about this one and this is a topic that is dear to me but that I have not written about here.  Melissa actually takes a turn with this one because she is not talking about the batterers and alcoholism but rather how the person that is being abused uses alcoholism as a coping mechanism. This guest post comes from Mrs. Melissa Kluska. Here is a little about Melissa: Melissa currently writes for organizations such as St Jude Retreats, an alternative solution to traditional alcohol and drug rehab. As well as writing for St. Jude’s, Melissa also enjoys writing pieces that will help others on topics like health and relationships. 2 million. The amount of injuries associated with domestic violence each year, and 84% of these domestic violence victims are women . [1] Some victims of domestic abuse have stayed in an abusive relationship for years while others have been close to n

February Is Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month

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In honor of Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month, I am giving the Kindle edition of my book " Because He Said He Loved Me: A short story about teen dating violence " away for free today. The reason being is because there is a message in this story that I want to get out to teens and there is even a message for adults. The teen years are the most prevalent years, it is when teens first start dating. For most teens, this is the time when they first experience feelings of love, when they first feel that they are cared for by the opposite sex. These are also some of the hardest times for teens. Teens experience so many changes and it when it comes to relationships a lot of what they experience will be new to them and they may think it is normal. Here are some statistics on Teen Dating Violence Via LoveisRespect.org Nearly 1.5 million high school students nationwide experience physical abuse from a dating partner in a single year. One in three adolescents in the U.S. is

Cradle My Love: A documentary about domestic violence

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A Message To My Readers:  Dear readers and supporters, I wanted to take out the time to thank you all for following my blog, commenting, sharing, and being so encouraging all the time. It really means a lot to me and I pray that I have inspired, encouraging, and helped some of you in many ways. Today I have decided to have a guest blogger, this is the first time since I have started this blog that I've ever had a guest blogger. This young lady at 19 years old has inspired me and I wanted to allow her to use this platform in order to inspire you as well. Miss Jeanine Strother entered a film contest and decided to do a documentary about domestic violence. It  touched my heart to see her at young age raising awareness for a cause that is very close to my heart and I am sure all of her hearts. Jeanine did not get picked in the final round but she is still eligible to win in another contest. On behalf of Jeanine I would like to ask you all to please watch the documentary and share it

Suffer in Silence? I Dare not!( A Poem about Domestic Violence)

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I wake up to the sound of him walking around the room. I assume that something is going to happen soon. He could get hit me, he could curse me; he could seriously hurt me if he dares. He drags me out the bed and out the room. My heart is hurting, my mind is pounding, and I’ve got to get out of here soon. He begins to attempt to sedate me so that he can rape me But I noticed that silence fills the room. Do I not have any cry in me left or have I lost my voice? I’m tired of screaming and shouting only for my cries to go unnoticed. Only for my tears to just dry up while I’m being ignored but being silent keeps me in a prison. I have no one to turn too but I also haven’t really turned to anyone Because every time someone gets close to me, I allow the threats of this fool to disturb my cool. So I’m no longer cool, instead I’m warm feeling unloved and torn apart. As he attempts to rape me I think to myself, dare I be silent? Or should I dare to make a noise

Athletes and Domestic Violence: Why I started with the NFL first

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Many of you might remember me writing a post about why I started the NFL Domestic Violence petition . Well, this time I am going to talk about athletes and domestic violence and eventually will elaborate again on why I chose to start with the NFL. Notice that I said start with, so that means I am open to petition other sports organizations but I chose to start with the NFL. Now, the NFL is the number ONE sport in the United States and ranks number 10 in the world. Now that is huge. There are so many people who enjoy and love the sport of football. Now, yes every sport has players that have been involved in domestic violence incidents. In recent news, we have heard about soccer player Hope Solo and her husband Jerramy Stevens  (Former NFL Player), we have heard about Dez Bryant and Chad Johnson ( Formally known as Ocho Cinco) but I cannot help but to point out the fact that majority of the time when you hear about domestic violence as it pertains to athletes, it comes more fro

What we can learn from Hope Solo and her now Husband Jerramy Stevens

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 In recent news, there is a story that is being reported that has left a lot of people wondering and nobody seems to have answers but maybe there are some answers. American Soccer player and Olympic Gold Medalist Hope Solo were reported to have been in a domestic dispute a couple of days ago. Although, Hope chose not to speak on it or even press charges, the police still arrested her then fiancé Jerramy Stevens ( A Former NFL player). The incident was said to happen at a party and the police felt like they had enough reason/evidence to arrest Mr. Stevens. What happened after that though, is what now has a lot of people wondering. It was said that Hope Solo refused to talk to the police and warned nobody else to talk to them as well-Let me be the first to say this is a sign that Hope is probably in an abusive relationship. See when it comes to domestic violence, the answers are not always clear but when one educates themselves on the subject, then the answers become a little clea

The Emotional Effects of Domestic Violence(Survey)

One of my favorite sayings and one that I came up with myself is "As advocates we should seek to understand more than we seek to be understood".  As a new and aspiring advocate I do not want to assume or come off as thinking that I know everything there is to know about domestic violence or any other causes for that matter.  I see statistics all the time, but I am not really big on statistics. I am big on testimonies and learning about other peoples struggle and how they overcame. Because of that, I have created a survey in order to understand better the emotional affects of domestic violence. I would like to hear from you, if you would like to share. Let it be known that I do not want to turn this into statistics that is not what this is about, I just want to hear from people who have actually been through it.  I have been through it myself, but in the process of wanting to help others, I also want to understand them. I realize that every situation is different and handl