Myth/Reality

That type of thing doesn't happen around here.

She must like it if she stays.

Some women like to stir up trouble.

Domestic violence is a subject engulfed with myths.
The reality is often quite different.

Myth: There are very few battered women in this country.
Reality: A woman is battered every 9 seconds in the U.S., and approximately 1,400 women are murdered by their spouses each year.

Myth: Domestic abuse only occurs in poor or minority families.
Reality: Domestic violence crosses all racial, imcome, and ethnic lines. The police in Norwalk, Connecticut, have the same number of wife abuse calls as the police in Harlem, New York, a city of comparable size.

Myth: Domestic abuse is just a slap, push, or punch - nothing serious.
Reality: 22% to 35% of women who visit emergency rooms are there for injuries related to abuse from a partner.

Myth: Men are battered just as much as women.
Reality: 95% of all assaults on spouses or ex-spouses are committed by men. Of 9,726 people calling for help in Louisiana in a year's time, 14 were men (.1%).

Myth: Leaving the relationship will end the violence.
Reality: A woman has a 75% greater chance of being murdered if she leaves.

This picture and story came from Beating Hearts: Stories of Domestic Violence
http://www.beatinghearts.net/