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Domestic violence represents a serious and long-standing problem in the United States as well as many other parts of the world. Domestic violence can take place between partners of the same sex and at times men are also victims of female partner abuse. However, in the vast of cases, the victims are women who were battered by their male partners. In fact, each day the statistics on domestic violence against women get more and more horrifying. A woman is beat every fifteen seconds, thirty five percent of emergency room visits from women are because of ongoing partner abuse, and approximately four million incidents are reported each year.(Texas, 1) Many questions come up in regards to this issue. For example, what are the warning signals, why don’t women leave and carry on with their lives, what happens if they stay? These are only few of the questions I asked myself as I tried looking from the outside in. Unfortunately, women are plagued with many different problems, and this sadly is the major one, which occur in different forms. Domestic violence is serious wherever and whenever it happens and in order to conquer this problem one must be educated and know that there is hope and help, but one must not stay quiet and stand up for herself before the worst occurs: death. To begin with, there are many warning signals and signs that can be detected, this may take time but could also be observed from the get go. The warning flags should not be ignored because abuse may be just down the road. For example, he speaks disrespectfully about his formal partners. A certain amount of anger and resentment toward and ex-partner is normal, but beware of the man who is very focused on his bitterness or who tells you about it inappropriately early on in your dating. (Bancroft, 114) It is key to be aware if he says his previous wife or girlfriend falsely accused him of abusive behavior. Another signal would be if he is a controlling and possessive man. In the short story, A Jury of Her Peers, Mrs. Hale says, “No, Wright wouldn’t like the bird, a thing that sang. She used to sing. He killed that too.” (Glaspell, 423) This is a clear example of what happens when men begin to control their partners and start changing them to their likings and “getting rid” of what they don‘t like. Jealousy behavior is on of the surest signs that abuse is the next step for the relationship. He begins calling five or six times a day checking up on her and asking where she is at, who she is with, and why she is there. Control usually begins in subtle ways, far from anything you would expect to call abuse. When a man intimidates his partner when his is mad is a serious sign. Intimidation, even if it appears unintentional, is a sign that emotional abuse is on its way, and only means that physical violence may eventually follow. It is always very important to take precautions in the “getting to know the partner” stage and watch for any red flags, but unfortunately love is greater than any sign, and women don’t know they are in an abusive situation until it is too late.
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