Domestic Violence: the elephant in the room

On Sept. 18, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell announced his collaboration with former players and law enforcement to establish new measures on combating domestic violence.

Recently, there has been an intense focus on domestic violence and professional athletes. There is the case of Ray Rice, who played for the Baltimore Ravens, and was suspended, and then terminated, for knocking his then-fiancé unconscious. Another controversial case that topped the headlines was of Adrian Peterson, a running back for the Minnesota Vikings. He was reported for beating his son twice, once with a belt and the other time with a switch (a small tree branch). He also has been suspended.

What constitutes as domestic violence is not cut and dried. However, what has been brought to the limelight has ignited a national outrage.

The NFL could not have come up with solutions to such perpetual injustice any faster, right? Wrong.

We’re so used to speaking out when the stories unfold in the news. Though the media covers and condemns the actions of criminal athletes on the spot (and rightly so), we feel that something else needs to be addressed here: We need to acknowledge that domestic violence and abuse occurs everywhere. Everywhere, including where cameras are not watching. Suspending, fining, and laying off offenders is only a temporary solution to an enduring flaw in humanity.

Second, we need to address two questions: who is affected, and why does it keep occurring? Many studies suggest the odds of a woman being assaulted range from 1 out of 7, to a staggering 1 out of 3. The National Coalition Against Domestic Violence suggests 1 out of 4 women will be domestically abused.

Out of all abuse victims, 85 percent are female and most fall victim between the age of 20 and 24 years old. Other studies, such as that by iWitness.com have stated, “1 in 3 women will experience violence from their partner.”

Let’s bring it home: According to Oregon.gov, there were a total of 140,637 calls for help to domestic violence programs in 2013. More than one-third of them, 34,725 calls, were here in Multnomah County.

While some could argue that domestic violence plagues both males and females, the data make clear that women are the majority effected.

So, why does domestic violence occur against women and children? Some say those who perpetrate the violence are out of control, but multiple studies show that the violence is often out of the need to control. This could come about because the abuser is feeling entitled to his family members’ unquestioning obedience. Perhaps, tying this into the NFL cases, there may be a masculinity crisis that causes the football players to harmfully execute their manhood. This puts a stigma on the concept of manhood.

Some theories suggest that in abuse cases among African Americans, the historic violence of slavery has had a negative impact on the subconscious of abusers. The fact of the matter is, there are many factors that influence the inclination to abuse.

Mt. Hood Athletic Director Kim Hyatt took some time to speak with the Advocate via email and on the subject of abuse and neglect among students, staff, or faculty and specifically within the athletic department.

“There is help out there for victims and survivors of abuse and violence. We encourage individuals to come forward and if someone tells you that they are being abused or in a relationship that violence is occurring, believe and support them.”

Hyatt added, “Don’t betray their trust by asking them why they haven’t left their abuse. The reality for many victims of abuse is that there are often challenges to leaving the relationship.”

We at the Advocate believe that educating the community on who are the victims of domestic violence, what it entails, and why it happens are what will help raise awareness, change the hearts of potential abusers, or, at the least, expose the shameful truth about domestic abuse.

We will be devoting the month of October to doing just that: educating our readers. Each week of October, starting with this editorial, we will feature at least one piece on domestic violence.