Domestic Violence Awareness Month

October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month, a time when we raise public awareness about community responsibility towards domestic violence and when we educate individuals on where to seek resources. In Mecklenburg County, call the 24/7 Greater Charlotte Hope Line at 980.771.4673 for questions about parenting issues, domestic violence, or sexual assault.

According to the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, domestic violence is the "willful intimidation, physical assault, battery, sexual assault, and/or other abusive behavior as part of a systematic pattern of power and control perpetrated by one intimate partner against another." DV includes physical violence, sexual violence, psychological violence, and emotional abuse. "The frequency and severity of domestic violence can vary dramatically; however, the one constant component of domestic violence is one partner's consistent efforts to maintain power and control over the other."

There are a number of forms of domestic violence, including (but not limited to) the following:

• Physical abuse
• Emotional abuse
• Sexual abuse
• Financial abuse
• Digital abuse
• Reproductive abuse
• Sexual coercion

​​​​​​Domestic violence is an epidemic affecting individuals in every community regardless of age, economic status, sexual orientation, gender identity, race, religion, or nationality. It is often accompanied by emotionally abusive and controlling behavior that is only a fraction of a systematic pattern of dominance and control. The devastating physical, emotional, and psychological consequences of domestic violence can cross generations and last a lifetime.