Domestic violence has become a tragedy that plagues every community across this country. Most often, we speak of domestic violence in relationships involving relatives, friends, co-workers, and people known to those individuals that target their victims for a variety of reasons. I think it involves a larger group of individuals and extends to groups of people that have been categorized into a specific scope of criminals.
Domestic violence is most notably associated among couples. We first see domestic violence as physical harm or injury inflicted on one person from another. We have grown to recognize that domestic violence can be psychological, verbal or implied by a person's body language, choice of words or series of patterns.
Domestic violence has begun to affect friends, co-workers, classmates, associations and acquaintances. We see friends harming or murdering one another. Co-workers angrily returning to the work place to commit violent acts. Classmates witnessing the injuries or deaths of their friends or coming face to face with people that would have never imagined that would harm them. Associations and acquaintances connected to fans, admirers, and social networking relationships turn into unexpected violence.
We see death on the streets on inner cities, among those who know one another. They are teenagers; they are child hood friends; they are students; they are sons and daughters; they are mothers and fathers; they are grand mothers and grand fathers.
Domestic violence goes beyond race, age, gender, socio-economic status, and region. Any type of domestic violence can happen in the richest and poorest neighborhoods. Violence is initiated by people, fostered by circumstances and increased by a number of factors. They are all ever changing.
There is nothing right about domestic violence. The problem is that it is on the rise and it is not limited to couples. It goes beyond the traditional idea of what domestic violence represents. We must recognize the signs, the symptoms, the new phases and solutions. Saving lives must be a priority. Prevention is key. Domestic violence is ripping lives, communities, and families apart.
