<p>You’re right, momof3stars, but unfortunately it’s not something that’s likely to be addressed in anything other than a special topics course in high school or college. As a society, we really don’t address it. When we do, it’s often far too late. </p>
<p>I work with a civic outreach program that works with young girls in at-risk situations. We do a lot of work with how to have strong relationships and how to avoid negative ones- whether it is intimate partner violence, family violence, or simply negative friendships. Unfortunately, there really just isn’t a lot of funding for these types of programs. And that’s to be expected when politicians call these programs “special interest” programs and defund them. There is some help available for those who are children survivors of family violence, but it’s stretched far beyond the limits and virtually none for general population programs. </p>
<p>Until we really, truly see intimate partner violence as a national emergency (which, given the horrifying statistics, it is) it will continue to be a relatively silent and misunderstood crime. Furthermore, people like to pretend that this type of thing can’t happen in their affluent, largely white, communities. It’s seen as an inner city problem or, worse yet, a problem that affects developing countries, but not us. As we’ve seen from this thread and others, the lack of understanding about this problem is glaring.</p>