By Vanessa Wilkins, Executive Director Atlanta Office, Tahirih Justice Center
The holiday season is upon us and evidence of this is apparent everywhere we go. Many people experience the holidays as a time of joy and light. A time to celebrate family, friends and all the important relationships in our lives. For others, this time of year may come with challenges, especially when domestic violence is present. Financial strain, co-parenting with an ex, increased time spent together, and additional pressures can compound existing tensions. As we approach the holidays, it is important to understand the dynamics of domestic violence and how it can impact children and families.
Statistics show that 1 in 3 women and 1 in 7 men have experienced violence from an intimate partner in their lifetime*. So, what is domestic violence? It is a pattern of abusive behavior that is used by one person to gain control over another person within the context of a relationship. What often comes to mind for most people when domestic violence is discussed are images of bruises, injuries, or a black eye. While physical violence is one form, domestic violence can also show up as emotional, psychological, economic, and/or sexual abuse.
Domestic violence can happen to anyone regardless of age, religion, gender, education, sexual orientation, ethnicity, class, or immigration status. There were 42,285 incidents of dv reported in Georgia during 2021 alone**. Domestic violence is all about power and control and there are several tactics that an abusive partner may use as a tool for control. These can include:
Isolation (limiting who their partner talks to, moving their partner away from family and friends)
Intimidation (destroying their partner’s property, abusing pets, using looks or gestures to make their partner afraid)
Threats (to do something to hurt their partner, to leave or commit suicide, to take children away)
Economic abuse (preventing their partner from keeping a job, taking their money, not allowing access to income)
For immigrants these tactics may also include hiding or destroying important documents, threats to remove children from the U.S., isolation from people who speak their language, lying about immigration status, threats that police will arrest them if they call to report abuse.
The effects of domestic violence extend beyond the partner who is targeted to the entire family, including children. The ways in which domestic violence affects children are varied and they are often described as the silent victims of domestic violence. This is true as witnessing domestic violence and simply even being in an environment where it occurs can have serious effects on a child’s behavioral, emotional, social and cognitive development ranging from infancy to adolescence. Children can also be physically harmed as a direct result of an assault or by intervening to protect a caregiver. Additionally, they may carry these traumatic experiences into their own adult relationships, perpetuating a cycle of violence.
Abuse is never the fault of the person experiencing it. It is important to note that the most dangerous time for someone in an abusive relationship is when the decision has been made to leave. The ability to leave safely requires having a plan in place and this is something a trained dv advocate can assist with.
If you or someone you know is in an abusive relationship, there is help available that is free and confidential. To find a domestic violence program near you, please access Georgia Coalition Against Domestic Violence (GCADV). You can also call the State Hotline at 1-800-334-2836 to speak to someone confidentially. If you are an immigrant in need of free and confidential legal services, please call 1-866-575-0071 or email atlanta@tahirih.org.
Additional resources can be found at:
Ser Familia’s GLADV (Georgia Latinos Against Domestic Violence)
Raksha - Healing, Empowerment and Justice for South Asian survivors
Quality Care for Children’s (QCC) Georgia Parent Power team recently hosted two webinars, one for Spanish-language speakers and one for English-language speakers, that provides insights to many questions about the causes of domestic violence as well as resources for coping and available community supports. Please view these webinars on QCC’s YouTube channel at: https://www.youtube.com/@QCCGeorgia.
Sources:
*National Center for Injury Prevention and Control/Division of Violence Prevention
** Georgia Commission on Family Violence 2023 FV Fact Sheet