The Providers: Fighting Back Against Domestic Violence

” The responsibility to end domestic violence is on us. We are the community of hope.

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The belief that survivors of domestic violence can end the violence by ending the relationship is harmful and not always true. Controlling tactics, abusive behavior, and violence often increase after the relationship has ended because the abusive partner

So often, survivors are questioned as to why do they stay? Why don’t they report and move forward with charges? Why don’t they leave?

Survivors of domestic violence live in our neighborhoods, are employed at places we frequent in our community, and at times are visitors in our homes attending friendly gatherings and celebrations. Domestic violence can happen to anyone. The decision to perpetuate abusive behaviors is made by the abuser, not the survivor. It’s not the survivor’s fault.

BY: MELANIE RODRIGUEZ, Outreach Services Manager, Aid to Victims of Domestic Abuse, Inc. www.avdaonline.org

Fighting Back Against Domestic Violence

THE PROVIDERS

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The Providers is a space for providers, practitioners, thought leaders, and systems change leaders to share. To contribute, send your article ideas to thewell@bewellpbc.org with “The Providers” in the subject line.

To learn more about domestic violence programs and services in Palm Beach County, please visit www.avdaonline.org.

The responsibility to end domestic violence is on us. We are the community of hope.

Ending domestic violence is much more than asking a survivor to end the relationship. It involves creating a community of hope where survivors can obtain the resources and support they need to overcome the negative impacts and barriers an abusive partner has created. It looks like a community that supports using a crisis hotline for emergency shelter, legal justice, financial resources, affordable child care, and safety plans. It is a community of individuals educated on domestic violence dynamics with a coordinated response to address it. It is prevention programming and safer spaces for conversations between peers and leaders. And it is a commitment from all of us to listen and learn from survivors to create change.

THE PROVIDERS

Matt Tyler – AVDA Violence Prevention Educator

Survivors navigate their everyday lives as parents, homeless individuals, professionals, and persons living with a disability while experiencing abuse by their intimate partner. As a community, we need to learn how to recognize and respond to domestic violence. An excellent place to begin is by having conversations about domestic violence, taking responsibility to address the impact of domestic violence, and building on strategies for prevention. Perpetrators of domestic violence need to be held accountable for their behaviors and choices. The community and youth need access to education about the dynamics of healthy relationships and be provided with tools to build and maintain equitable relationships.

wants to maintain power and control. Ending the relationship is one of the most dangerous times for survivors of domestic violence. When the survivor decides to leave, they are often stalked by their partners, monitored on social media, harassed at their place of employment, and tracked by the children they have in common.