Royal Navy Appoints Its First Female Commander
Lois Tarter: The One Person You Should NEVER Date After A Split
The rich and famous are not immune to domestic violence -- no one is. And the recession is only fueling the fighting -- the National Council on Family Violence received an average of 1,000 more calls than usual in every month of 2008.
What's worse is that many of the shelters that house these women and their kids are struggling financially and running out of room as client numbers rise.
Cities and States at Risk
The Women's Center and Shelter of Greater Pittsburgh, for instance, turned away 360 women and children -- a 125 percent increase -- from July 2008 to December 2008, while clients increased 19 percent. Shirl Regan, executive director at the shelter, says violence is on the rise because the economy is increasing the stress at home. "It's that violence we've been asking the women about when they call and they say yes they have seen an increase and they are fearful for their lives and the lives of their children," Regan said.
Click here for more.
Vickie Smith, the executive director of the Illinois Coalition Against Domestic Violence, says if state funding for violence shelters doesn't hold steady, thousands of women might be denied services in her state. She says shelters' operational expenses are rising because of higher energy costs and inflation.
A proposed 10 percent cut in the domestic and sexual violence services fund is threatening shelters in Oregon. Minnesota's shelters -- like many shelters around the country -- are also experiencing overcrowding because it's taking women longer to get back on their feet.
Help May Be On the Way
Last year, Feministing reports, Congress failed to use all the funding allocated for domestic violence. In addition to making full use of available money, activists want Congress to support the Violence Against Women Act, an anti-violence law originally passed in 1994 that aids domestic-violence shelters and other services relating to sexual and domestic violence, sexual assault and stalking.
Also, President Obama's budget includes funding to reduce domestic violence and enhance emergency care systems.
Tell us: What else should we be doing to make sure abuse victims get the help they need?
Comments:
Add a comment
Thursday 02 April
By leo
Very sad
Reply
Saturday 04 April
By Belinda Bippus
I am blown away that Congress failed to use all the funding allocated for domestic violence. What kind of message does that send? I would be interested to know what states and why the funding wasn't used.
At least there is hope in that, President Obama's budget includes funding to reduce domestic violence and enhance emergency care systems.
When the economy suffers domestic violence will increase, that is just the reality of it. I hope to be able to contribute more in the future to this cause.
It's a tough situation, because on one hand the shelters need to remain hidden to protect the women and children who enter these facilities, but on the other hand there needs to be more awareness, and many people won't contribute to programs that are invisible.
I once collected old cellphones from people and sent them to a center to be used as a way to get help for women in abusive relationships. These were used so that if they found themselves in a life threatening situation they could call for help.
My first instinct was to say that it would be nice if some churches would step up and help out in this situation, and I am sure many do... but then there are those cult-like churches who do more harm than good and women and children need protection from them as well.
I got it... send the abusers to one of those countries where their behavior is acceptable ... Wah lah problem solved... Don't you wish it was that easy...
Reply
Tuesday 07 April
By vince
I think any non-profit, tax exempt organization who's stated purpose is to help those in need should all either run a shelter or help support one already in existence and prove that they give suppor to it to retain their tax exempt status.
Reply
Wednesday 22 September
By krystle
as a domestic violence victim myself this is sad because when i was going through it i had to go through all sorts of classes and the main thing i learned was it was my fault and how to get hit with out bruising or how to not make him angry in the first place... what?! red flag there. the cops were called how many times and i heard everything from you mustve fallen to why are you lying about your husband. i was trapped and had no where to turn and wound up staying until he left me for dead on the living room floor because i refused to abort our second child. he was only given 18 months of which he served 15 and im still trying to get on my feet only now i have a child to take care of too. many women dont want to stay in these relationships but dont have much choice when theres no one to turn to.
Reply