Domestic Violence

In America, one hour from now, there will be...
240 women battered
400 children will witness violence in their home
4 women will be killed by an intimate partner

In Henrico County, Virginia last year...
5,974 calls to Henrico Police resulting in 1,149 arrests
567 protective orders were served

In 2009, Safe Harbor provided approximately 3200 nights of shelter to adult and child survivors of domestic violence and 2,400 hours of individual, family and group advocacy and supportive services in English and Spanish to survivors of domestic violence. Safe Harbor provided assistance on over 925 hotline calls and trained nearly 4,000 persons on topics related to domestic violence and Safe Harbor’s services.

Safe Harbor launched the Regional Hospital Accompaniment Response Team (RHART) in 2009. This program is on-call 24 hours a day and 365 days per year and is a collaboration between Safe Harbor, the YWCA and Hanover Safe Place to provide hospital advocacy to survivors of domestic and sexual violence seeking medical attention at local Bon Secours Hospitals and at MCVH. Safe Harbor received stimulus VSTOP funding to hire a bi-lingual Court Advocate to work in Henrico County JDR Court. The advocate began work in October 2009 and worked with 77 survivors in 2009.

Understanding Domestic Violence

• Domestic Violence is a pattern of physically, sexually and/or emotionally abusive behaviors used by one individual to maintain power over or to control a partner in the context of an intimate or family relationship.
• Abuse can take many different forms including emotional, verbal, and/or sexual. All forms of abuse are serious and can have devastating effects on the victim.
• No one is immune from domestic violence. It affects people of all races, ages, religions, economic groups, and education levels. It happens in any and all types of intimate relationships regardless of sexuality.
• Domestic violence is not genetic or something the abusive partner is just "born with". Domestic violence is always a choice.
• Violence is not caused by "stress". Everyone experiences stress and can choose to deal with it in a variety of ways including exercise, deep breathing, reading, eating, etc.

People who choose to use violence need to be held accountable for that choice.

Types of Abuse

• Physical Abuse - a wide range of behaviors, which include aggressive behavior done by the offender to the victim's body.
• Sexual Abuse - includes aggressive sexual acts to the victim's body.
• Psychological/Emotional Abuse - involves no contact with the victim's body, involves the use of verbal, emotional, and psychological weapons rather than physical attacks. This may be a prerequisite to physical abuse.
• Destruction of Property/Pets - involves no contact with the victim’s body, but behavior is still meant to intimidate the victim. Destruction is not random or meant to "blow off steam". Has the same emotional impact as physical assault.