Divorce Touchy Subject in Cases of Domestic Violence

By Heather Faucher | Posted on August 4, 2009 | Filed Under Divorce 

According to the American Institute on Domestic Violence, 5.3 million women are abused each year. Additionally, at least 1,232 women are killed each year by an intimate partner. Domestic violence remains the leading cause of injury to women, and women are far more likely to be attacked by someone they know rather than a random stranger. Ironically, while men typically fall victim to violent crimes more often than women, women are victimized by intimate partners 5 to 8 times more often than men. In fact, statistics show that 21% of violent crimes against women are committed by an intimate partner, whereas only about 2% of the violence committed against men are perpetrated by an intimate partner.

Violence is given as a reason for divorce in approximately 22% of middle-class marriages. Separated or divorced women fall victim to the highest rates of intimate partner victimization, with never-married women following at the lower end of the spectrum. Many people look at the battered women who stay in abusive relationships and assume they must not want help if they don’t ask for it, or just “get out” of the dangerous situation they’re in. But sometimes it’s just not that easy.

Battered women remain in abusive relationships for a variety of reasons. Some are financially dependent upon their abusers, with no financial recourse or family who can help them escape. Others stay for their children’s sake, especially in cases where their spouse abuses them but not the children. Yet others have a lack of self-esteem and believe they either deserve the abuse or that nobody else will love them the way their current spouse does. Some feel a sense of shame over what is happening to them. Finally, the major reason many do not flee, their sheer fear of their abuser. The husband has probably threatened to hurt their children or other family members if the wife leaves them. Perhaps they’ve even threatened murder. Many of these women fear their spouses and for good reason. Their spouses have already proven they’re willing to commit violence. What’s to stop them from going one step further and killing them?

But help is available for women who need it. The National Domestic Violence Hotline is a non-profit organization that offers crisis intervention, information and referral to victims of domestic violence, perpetrators, friends and families. They offer help to callers 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Those who feel they are being abused or battered in their relationships should call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-SAFE (7233) or TTY 1-800-787-3224. Women shouldn’t be afraid to seek out legal solutions to abusive relationships, up to and including divorce, once they are in a safe, neutral environment and feel more secure.

You’ve escaped a violent marriage. Now you’re wondering how to file for divorce? Look no further.

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