Yvonne Jones A Time To Heal on: What is Domestic Violence

The United States Department of Justice defines domestic violence as a pattern of abusive behavior in any relationship that is used by one partner to gain or maintain power and control over another intimate partner. Domestic violence can be physical, sexual, emotional, economic, or psychological actions or threats of actions that influence another person. 
     Hi, my name is Yvonne Jones Author of A Time To Heal; The Struggles Of A Battered Woman. One of the most difficult lessons I had to learn in life is, we live our lives by the choices we make, and all it takes is one bad choice to ruin the rest of your life. Domestic violence is a worldwide problem that is highly misunderstood, taken for granted, and overlooked by many, including law enforcement. Don't get me wrong, there is a lot more education today about domestic violence, more help resources, more battered women's shelters, and more people who are sharing their stories in order to help someone else. There is an old saying that goes like this, "you never know how you will act or respond in a certain situation until you have gone through that situation yourself." In other words you can sit there and say, "well I would have done this, or I would have done that, there's no way I would have let that happen." The truth is none of us know how we will react to any situation until we are going through it ourselves. 
     Many years ago, when I was just a teenager I remember watching a show on TV where this man was beating his wife. I sat there and said, "man I would never let a man hit on me like that." I meant every word I said, but little did I know that one day years later I would be faced with that same situation, and guess what? I did just the opposite of what I said. Did I go into that relationship knowing that he was an abuser? NO! We don't purposely scope somebody out who we know is going to beat us or even possibly kill us. Men who abuse women do not show that side of themselves until they have started dating that person and gained her trust. Or do they? There are signs that you can look for in a person who is a potential abuser, but you won't know what those signs are unless you are looking for them and not allowing yourself to be taken in by their charm. 
     You may not have ever been abused, or know of anyone else who has but if you have children then one day you will have grandchildren, all of  us have brothers, sisters, nieces, nephews, friends etc. that we love and would not want to be abused. Whether you think you need to know about domestic violence and the many areas it covers or not, one day you will run into someone who does. You never know if that someone just might be related to you. 
     How do we help people who are going through addictions to alcohol, drugs, etc. Well its a little hard to tell someone how to get off drugs if you've never had a drug problem, etc, etc. but most of us know of someone who has been delivered from those addictions and we can help others by sharing our stories, and encouraging them to share theirs. What do people at alcoholics anonymous meetings do, they share their stories. 
     I will be starting a series of blogs that teaches you what to look for in a potential abuser, the steps to take in helping someone who is being abused, healing after abuse, and my own personal story of abuse that took the life of my 6 year old son. I hope you will follow me on this journey and I hope to be able to hear your stories as well. Until next time, may God bless and I look forward to having you help me put a stop to domestic violence.