Statistics have proven that abuse knows no boundaries: racial, ethnic, religious, or socioeconomic. It occurs among the very rich and the very poor, the highly educated and the illiterate, in all parts of the world.

The Battered/Formerly Battered Women’s Task Force of the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence (NCADV) says, “Battering is an issue of crime, health, safety, ethics, politics, systems, choices, economics, and socialization.” Not only must individual thinking and behavior change if battering is to be stopped, but social and cultural values that allow battering and perpetuate it must change as well.

Ingrained social stereotypes support tolerance of abuse in families. Many people still think most instances of battering are “rare” or “minor” and don’t warrant outside “interference.” Others feel men are inherently aggressive, and women naturally passive, so abuse is inevitable due to “human Nature.” Some believe that women who nag, get angry, or speak their own minds “provoke” violence and deserve to be beaten. Battering is viewed as a problem caused by stress or poverty, or limited to the “lower classes.”

Throughout history, two persistent assumptions have contributed to society’s turning away from domestic violence; first, that it was a minor, private, and/or family matter and, second, that others were helpless to do anything about it. Only recently has society begun to face the unspeakable horror of domestic violence, as images of human beings behind the headlines fill books, magazines and newspapers with their powerful reminder that these are not statistics – these are people. Yet we still turn away.

When O.J. Simpson was acquitted for the murder of his ex-wife and her friend in his criminal trial, many feared that the verdict would send a message to abusers that they can get away with murder. Another chilling lesson of the Simpson case is that even when women do everything right, everything society tells them to do, they can end up murdered – unless outside intervention by law enforcement, criminal justice, and other community service takes swift and firm action to stop the batterer.

At SMMHC’s Alcohol & Drug Office, we have solutions for problems with substance abuse and anger.

Carolene Britt works at SMMHC’s Alcohol & Drug Office. For more information contact: Carolene Britt, LAC, CADC, 200 S. Wall St., Natchez, MS, 39121, 601-446-6634.