A few weeks ago, I was having a discussion on the dynamics of abuse with a survivor.  Mid-conversation,she stopped me and asked,“Are you sure you’ve never been abused?”  “Well,no,I mean…” I stammered.  “No,it’s not whether or not I’ve been abused,but the fact that I’m a woman.  I think many women are able to deeply understand the injustices in abusive relationships because we’ve experienced smaller tastes of the same injustice on some level in our own relationships.”  What an “Aha!” moment that was for both of us and one that led to a fruitful discussion. You see,the thing about patriarchy (broadly defined as control by men of a disproportionately large share of power) is that it does play a role in many women’s lives and relationships.  For instance, many women are in relationships with men who, while they would deny such an accusation, are undoubtedly taking steps to control their partner.  [...]

Children are far too often the silent witnesses of domestic violence.In fact, 15.5 million children in the United States live in families in which partner violence occurred at least oncein the past year.* I spoke with Daaiyah H., PADV’s Gwinnett Safe House Children’s Advocate, to find out how domestic violence in the home impacts children. Children are often left out of discussions about intimate partner violence if they are not targets of abuse. Why is it harmful for children to witness domestic violence?  Witnessing domestic violence can mean seeing actual incidents of physical and/or sexual abuse. It can mean hearing threats or fighting noises from another room. It can also mean observing the aftermath of it all, such as blood, bruises, tears, torn clothing, and broken items. Witnessing intimate partner violence is the single best predictor of juvenile delinquency and adult criminality. It can also have potential emotional, behavioral and [...]

Machismo (mä-chēz’mō): A strong sense of masculine pride : an exaggerated masculinity. While “machismo”  is frequently mentioned when discussing the perpetuation of spouse abuse in the Latino community, it is not the singular, or even the most important topic of discussion.  Let’s think further than machismo.  Let’s discuss action-centered questions/solutions such as: Why is the Latino community one that, given the resources, is well-suited to combat this issue?  What is it about Latino-culture that can help us, ultimately, to end domestic violence? While Latinos do come from many diverse backgrounds, there are several characteristics that form the threads that run throughout many Latino groups: 1. Family is the center of life. Latino batterers, like all batterers, must be held accountable for abuse.  Sending a strong message to batterers that their behavior is detrimental to the family, their children and ultimately, their “cultura” may be beneficial in convincing them to seek help. [...]

On July 30, Kilpatrick Stockton donated backpacks full of school supplies to the children participating in PADV’s programs. Each year, this generous firm provides backpacks to children in need in metro Atlanta and the group selected PADV’s children to be a benefactor of this year’s drive. Donations like these provide a vital step to empowering the children involved in our programs. The children in our safe houses, transitional housing and community outreach programs can hold their heads high knowing that they have everything they need as they walk into a new school for the first time. We thank Kilpatrick Stockton for their generosity and the ability to help our children move on from the violence they’ve witnessed and live happy, successful and violence-free lives.

  Welcome to PADV’s Blog!   As President & CEO of Partnership Against Domestic Violence I’m proud to share that PADV has a new mission “to end intimate partner violence and empower its survivors.” It sharpens our focus on helping survivors but it also commits us to doing what we can to prevent it.   One way we are doing that is to reach out to children and teens* while their ideas about healthy relationships are still forming. Another is to educate employers so that they can support employees who are being abused as well as sanction those that harass their employees at work*. Still another is working with communities of faith so that they know how best to support their members but also know how to hold meaningful conversations with men about abusive behavior. Since the research shows that intimate partner violence is perpetrated primarily by men, these are conversations that [...]