How Does Domestic Violence Affect Women

In February of 2009 police photos of a bruised and battered pop star Rihanna hit the internet. Whereas this was not the first case of domestic violence for many young people it brought to light a long standing epidemic. People began choosing sides and making excuses and the incident was fodder for many debates. Domestic violence affects not only the person suffering abuse, but others as well. Just like most crimes, domestic violence causes a chain reaction that branches into the area of finance, family,and a host of other areas as well.
Every 9 seconds domestic violence affects a woman in America. However it is not only women. Whereas 1 in 3 women suffer some form of domestic violence, 1 in 4 men have suffered some form of physical violence in their lifetime as well. The history of domestic violence and the challenges many face when seeking help is vast. In addition, domestic violence is often seen as a black eye or broken arm black eye.
For those who suffered before then they often suffered in silence. Although changes began to take place in the 1970s legislation still existed indicating the lack of rights for victims of abuse. However, as the women's movement began to pick up steam the individual issues of women did as well. In The same way that women and their supporters fought for equality, they also began to fight for safety. However as more attention came about concerning domestic violence so did support in the form of education and awareness by 1979 domestic violence was recognized by the healthy people initiatives. October 1981 saw the creation of the first domestic violence week However while many states and local government were making changes the first big legislative change on a federal level was the Violence Against Women Act, which help to propell the momentum and help create change and advocacy in larger platforms for victims of domestic