Intimate Partner Violence (IPV)
IPV is a pattern of behavior in any relationship that is used to gain or maintain power and control over an intimate partner. It may also be called domestic violence, partner abuse, or relationship violence.
Myths and Facts
MYTH: Victims should leave their abuser immediately.
FACT:
· The overwhelming majority --over 75%--of abused women eventually DO leave their abusers. Leaving an abuser is a process, not an event. If she did not have enough resources and support, she may return to her abuser. She may be financially dependent on the abuser.
· He may have made threats that should she try to leave him that he will hurt of kill her and the children, destroy her property, or hurt or kill her pets. He may threated that should she leave, he will take her to court, impoverish her, refuse to pay child support, and gain custody of the children so that she will never seem them again.
· There may be a 'honeymoon' period, during which he abuser makes an abrupt about face, and swears he will never hurt her again, and may into counseling. Many abused women blame themselves for their own abuse because their partners and families blame them.
MYTH: If someone I cared about was being abused I would be able to know.
FACT: Many people think that physical assault is the only type of violence used in IPV. However, the basis of IPV is an abusers need for power and control. Abusers use emotional, mental, and verbal violence to fulfill this need. Isolation, threats, name calling, and stalking are commonly used tactics which do not leave physical bruising or scars (see Power and Control Wheel). It is important for people to look for other "red flags" of abuse besides the physical appearance of the person they care for.
MYTH: IPV is directly related to mental illness or alcohol or other drug use.
FACT:
· Although there is a correlation between alcohol, or other substance abuse, and battering, it is not a casual relationship.
· Batterers use drinking as one of many excuses for their violence and as a way to place the responsibility for their violence elsewhere. Stopping the abusers' drinking will not stop the violence. Both battering and substance abuse need to be addressed separately, as overlapping yet independent problems. While substance abuse is known to impair judgment, reduce inhibition, and increase aggression, battering is a socially learned behavior, and is not the result of substance abuse or mental illness.
MYTH: Intimate partner violence is primarily a problem among the poor and uneducated.
FACT:
· Women of all cultures, races, occupations, income levels, and ages are battered -by husbands, boyfriends, lovers and partners.
· Approximately one-third of the men counseled (for battering) are
professional men who are well respected in their jobs and their
communities. These have included doctors, psychologists, lawyers,
ministers, and business executives.
· Studies of domestic violence consistently have found that battering
occurs among all types of families, regardless of income, profession,
region, ethnicity, education level or race. However, the fact that
lower income victims and abusers are over-represented in calls to
police, battered women's shelters and social services may be due to
lack of other resources.
MYTH: Intimate partner violence only happens in heterosexual married relationships.
FACT:
- IPV can occur in ANY type of intimate relationship. Parents and children, roommates, non-cohabiting partners, and previous relationships, are some of the common relationships in which
|
