Blog Archives

The Ike and Tina Effect

This weekend I walked in the Domestic Violence Walk. This is the second year that the New Beginnings Domestic Violence Organization held the walk in honor of so many victims that have experienced domestic violence or still experiencing it. Today wraps up Domestic Awareness month and of course National Breast Cancer Awareness Month. The awareness and the fight must continue.

The Ike and Tina Effect has been going on for decades. Many women have been victims of domestic violence. The number continues to grow in young women. So just what is Domestic Violence?Domestic/dating violence (also known as intimate partner violence) is a pattern of controlling behaviors that one partner uses to get power over the other.

any kind of physical violence or threat of physical violence to get control
emotional or mental abuse, such as playing mind games, making you feel crazy, or constantly putting you down or criticizing you
Sexual abuse, including making you do anything you don’t want to do, refusing to have safe sex or making you feel badly about yourself sexually.

Here are some facts for you:

About 95% of all domestic violence victims are female. The majority of male victims are assaulted by other men.
One third of American women and one-quarter of women worldwide will experience domestic/dating violence in their lifetime.
An estimated 1.3 million women are victims of physical assault by an intimate partner each year. Some studies say the numbers are even greater – up to 5.3 million – since most assaults go unreported.
Only 25% of all physical assaults perpetuated by intimate partners are reported to the police.
Females who are 20-24 years of age are at the greatest risk for intimate partner violence.
On average, more than three women are murdered by their husbands or boyfriends in this country every day. That’s more than 1,100 women a year.
Domestic violence is the leading cause of injury to women – more than car accidents, muggings, and rapes combined.
One half of all homeless women in the country are fleeing from domestic violence.
Women are more likely to be attacked by someone they know rather than by a stranger.
Domestic/Dating violence costs the US $5.8 billion annually in health related costs, with $4.1 billion for victims needing medical and mental health services.

Those statistics are alarming! It is an epidemic affecting people in every community, regardless of age, economic status, race, religion, nationality or educational background. The good news is that help is available for the victim and the perpetrator. Domestic Violence is a learned behavior; therefore, it can be unlearned.

This brings me back to the movie we all know and love, “What’s Love Got to Do With It” Tina Turner let the world into her very personal and horrific story in her book, I Tina, that was later turned into the movie. Her story gave us an upclose picture of what domestic violence is like. This took place in the 60’s and 70’s. Let’s not forget about Chris Brown and Rihanna. Their story gave us a modern-day twist and it also reminded us that Domestic Violence is still prevalent. It really affects our young women. Like the character in the movie warned Tina, “It is not ok to let some muthafucker pound on you”! We need to remind our young girls, teens, and young women, that they do not have to take that abuse. We can put an end to Domestic Violence, so let’s continue the fight to end it permanently.