Domestic violence: no one has to suffer in silence

By Yolanda Romero
Staff reporter

According to New York City Administration for Children’s Services; all kinds of violence is happening in our communities. What makes it so hard is that most of the crime involve youth.

There is research and help for whoever is in need of assistance. But what happens when no one wants to get involve. There are folks out there that turn the other cheek. Violence is something that hurts everyone. Certainly, you’ve seen violence perpetrated in many different ways, your children’s friends hitting one another. Adults fighting in the streets, teens turning to selling or using drugs.

Scenes like these seem to happen in Highbridge a lot. Most of the time it’s our children who suffer. They see these common events and say “Oh well. Violence is the way to get things done.” But it’s not and it hurts to see people caught in a cycle. Records show that last year, New York City’s Domestic Violence Hotline received more than 151,200 calls and the New York City Police Department responded to nearly 222, 500 domestic incidents.

Some may ask, “Where does it end or where do I begin to stop it?” If Violence is not topped in the beginning of a relationship it is more likely to continue.

An ACS spokesperson once wrote, “Violence in an intimate relationship is physically, emotionally and spiritually damaging to its’ victims as well as to the children involved.” Everyone that has seen or is around this violence needs to get involve, we have a responsibility and we should care enough to step forward and say “No More we will do whatever it needs to be done to stop the violence.”

Educate our children from the beginning as they take their first breath, we cannot hurt them, they cannot hurt anyone and they cannot see anyone physically or verbally hurt.

We can start by treating each other with the utmost respect, take our children to learn self-defense skills with a positive approach, talk about it what hurts and teach others to do the same and ask school to teach conflict resolution to all its children.

Rcommended reading to learn more about Domestic Violence:

Chain, Chain, Change; For black Women Dealing with Physical and Emotional Abuse. By Evelyn O. White

Mejor Sola Que Mal Acompanada: For the Latina in an Abusive Relationship, By Myna M. Zambrano.

Naming the Violence: Speaking out About Lesbian Battering, By Kerry Lobel.

When Love Goes Wrong: What to Do When you Can’t Do Anything Right, By Susan Schechter and Ann Jones.

The National Center for Children Domestic Violence: www.nccev.org