Putting An End To Domestic Violence

(Black PR Wire) March 13, 2009 – Reports that beloved evangelical religious leader the Prophetess Juanita Bynum was accosted and beaten by her husband in an Atlanta parking lot two weeks ago were harrowing not to mention horrifying for most in the African American community. Harder yet was witnessing an egregious act of domestic violence within the marriage of a religious couple thought to have it all. Juanita Bynum is famous for her “no more sheets” ministry about women’s empowerment openly discussing her past, encouraging women to remain chaste until marriage out of self respect. Her marriage to Bishop Thomas Weeks III in 2002 in what most would call a fairy tale wedding was televised on TBN and said to have cost over $1 million.

Domestic violence is one of the sadder aspects of our society, seeming to lay dormant until exploding out of the woodwork to plague couples we never thought in our wildest dreams would have such troubles. According to a 2000 report by the U.S. Department of Justice Bureau of Justice Statistics, black women and men suffer the most from domestic violence, with the highest national rates. African American women, in fact, experience domestic violence at a rate of about 35% higher than that of their white counterparts and at about 22 times the rate of women of other ethnicities.

However, the statistics surrounding domestic violence in the United States are difficult to read. Expert estimates suggest that it is as much as 10 times more prevalent in the United States than as reported by the Bureau of Justice Statistics. The rates at which women report domestic violence to authorities varies too with African American and Hispanic women reporting domestic violence at the highest rate, 65 – 67% of the time, while Anglo women are thought to report it about 50% of the time.

The effects of domestic violence on children are substantial regardless of whether or not the child is ever directly physically abused. These children suffer a great deal from anxiety disorders, developmental problems, stress related physical ailments, hearing and speech problems, not to mention physical injuries from sometimes getting in the way of the abuser. There are many outlets for counseling and refuge to be sought out however. Organizations exist throughout the nation to assist women and children in abusive situations. The more this issue comes out into the open the more steps can be taken to make domestic violence a part of ancient history.

For more information log onto the following sites:

www.ndvh.org
www.endabuse.org
www.ncadv.org
www.domesticviolence.org
www.standagainstdv.org

Contact Information
Sonshine Communications
305-948-8063

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