October is National Domestic Violence Awareness month. As a former victim, I make a point to speak out not just for myself, but for all the women who are still trapped in abusive relationships. I also make it a point to speak out about God’s healing and deliverance from the post-traumatic physical, mental, emotional and spiritual effects of abuse.
There are many stereotypes attached to the subject of domestic violence, which is a very neutral sounding term for a very intimate attack against a person. This is not a violent act done to a person by a stranger. This is an ongoing assault done by one family member against another family member. That is what makes it so devastating to the victim. It’s one thing to react and deal with an assault done by a stranger. It’s quite another to react and deal with an assault done by someone you love and who professes his love to you. Add to that the fact that the assault is ongoing over the length of the relationship.
There are several different types of domestic violence and each has its own dynamics. There is verbal, which includes mental and emotional abuse. There is physical which includes hitting, slapping, shoving, or use of any weapons against the body of the victim. Another type of abuse is social, which includes manipulation and control, and isolation from family and friends. Yet another form of abuse is financial which includes controlling when and where a victim can accept employment, whether or not a victim advances their education and/or employment training, and controlling how much of the victim’s income she actually gets to keep. Of all of these, the one given the most attention is physical. The reason for that is because physical abuse is the only kind that is prosecutable.
Over the month of October, I will be writing about domestic violence: the facts, the history, the causes, the effects and the needs of the victim so she can get free and find healing and wholeness.
My first book, Home Should be Safe: Hope and Help for Domestic Violence Victims, is available for sale on Amazon at https://www.amazon.com/Home-Should-Be-Safe-Domestic/dp/1467542075/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1475457915&sr=8-1&keywords=Home+Should+Be+Safe%3A+Hope+and+Help+for+Domestic+Violence+Victims
I am currently working on my second book, a companion to this one. The title is Roadmap to Healing and Wholeness which should be complete by the end of 2016. Keep watching my blog for updates on its progress.
Mina's Minutes 