This little girl-once a statistic . . .
* Statistics tell us:
One in every four women will experience domestic violence in her lifetime.
An estimated 1.3 million women are victims of physical assault by an intimate partner each year.
85% of domestic violence victims are women.
Historically, females have been most often victimized by someone they knew.
Females who are 20-24 years of age are at the greatest risk of nonfatal intimate partner violence.
Most cases of domestic violence are never reported to the police.
These statistics might be surprising, at the very least, to those who are unaware of just how much damage domestic violence causes in America each year. They are statistics.
Now, here is a FACT:
Most victims and survivors of domestic violence are all too well aware they are a statistic. While knowing you are not alone in your abuse might serve as some consolation, there is nothing more healing than to be touched by the personal message of a fellow traveler. To know we are seen as more than a slice from a pie chart, or column on a graph can be soothing and reassuring. For every percentage quoted, for every statistic printed, there is a living, breathing, suffering human being who is desperately seeking to find a way out of their own personal hell.
You see, we are not meant to be merely a remnant of our abuse. A much greater plan exists to deliver us into freedom, empowerment and just maybe becoming another voice for other victims. As a survivor of domestic violence who has moved forward into advocacy work, I have accepted as my own personal mission to reach as many victims and struggling survivors as possible, for as long as I remain on this earth. I want to proclaim the message, “You are not alone. You are more than a statistic. There is hope!”
. . . now she is an author and advocate
* Statistics from NCADV Public Policy Office · 1633 Q St NW # 210 · Washington, DC 20009 · (202) 745-1211 · Fax: (202) 745-0088 publicpolicy@ncadv.org