During Domestic Violence Awareness Month this month, Turning Point Advocacy Services asks communities to make domestic violence everyone’s business and act against it.“As a community, we can do more to nourish values that say, ‘We do not tolerate abuse.’ We can do that by changing perceptions of gender equality and holding abusers accountable for their behaviors through social pressure and legal consequences,” said Jolynn Houchins, executive director of Turning Point.“Our call to action is to speak up when you suspect an abusive situation. We should also speak up when we catch people saying or doing things that bully women or suggest they are less worthy than men,” she said.Domestic violence is a pattern of physical, sexual, psychological or economic abuses that one intimate partner uses to control the other. Victims regularly report that their relationships began ideally. The verbal abuses and physical harm started later and escalated. When children are included in the relationship, they are more likely to become victims or abusers as adults.The Missouri Coalition Against Domestic Violence (MCADV) reports that 35,000 people received services from domestic violence programs in 2017. Nationally, 76 percent of victims of domestic abuse are women. About 24 percent are men. What’s more is that Missouri ranks seventh in the nation for female homicide victims and most of those deaths are a result of domestic violence.“Abusive relationships take away one person’s power, safety and security,” Houchins said. “Victims live in a constant state of uncertainty and danger. Many lose their sense of self and are filled with self-doubt. A great number of victims grow increasingly dependent on their abusers just to survive.”Domestic abuse is a community issue and it requires a community to act. It affects families and has a large social and economic impact on communities. Abuse in any form is linked to diminished physical and psychological health, drug and alcohol abuse, unemployment and other crimes. By not taking action, the cycle continues.“The hallmarks of a healthy relationship are mutual respect and loving behaviors. Healthy couples do nice things and say nice things to each other; they support each other in their individual pursuits, and they work as a team to make their lives better. Everyone needs and deserves relationships like that,” said Houchins.Turning Point serves individuals and families in Franklin, Gasconade, Lincoln, Montgomery, Warren and western St. Charles counties. Turning Point’s goal is to help survivors and their children learn to overcome the cycle of abuse.The nonprofit organization provides a 24/7 hotline, emergency shelter, court advocacy, safety planning, economic empowerment, counseling and resource education to victims of domestic violence, sexual abuse and sex trafficking. In 2017 Turning Point provided services to 330 people and answered 527 hotline calls.For help, call the hotline at 888-873-7233. For more information or to donate, call 636-456-1186, visit turningpointdvs.com, or find Turningpointwmo on Facebook.
Warren County Commissioners, on Monday, Oct. 15, proclaimed October Domestic Violence Awareness Month. Pictured from left are Commissioner Hubert Kluesner, Jolynn Huchins, executive director for Turning Point, Laura Adams, chairperson for the Turning Point Board of Directors, and Presiding Commissioner Roger R. Mauzy, Sr.
Submitted photo
