Rambling Rhoades: Domestic violence a scourge, but there’s hope

Brady Rhodes is an editor with OCNN (which includes the Catalina Islander) and contributes to the Islander.

October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month. Domestic violence is a scourge on society that leaves physical and emotional scars on victims, victims’ families and friends, police, social workers and others.

Capt. John Hocking of Avalon the Sheriff’s Station indicated that the Sheriff’s Department works with the Catalina Island Women’s Forum regarding providing Domestic Violence Resources to victims of Domestic Violence.  The information that is provided is the National Domestic Violence Hotline, Women’s Shelter of Long Beach Hotline, and information about how to prevent Domestic Violence.  The information is provided in Spanish and English.  The Sheriff’s Department working with the Women’s Forum also provides victims of Domestic Violence with care packages when the victims need them.  Hocking told the Islander that the Sheriff’s Department is always available to help if you are involved in a Domestic Violence situation.

The Orange County Social Services Agency describes domestic violence as a pattern of abusive behavior in any relationship that is used by one partner to gain or maintain power and control over another intimate partner. Domestic violence can be physical, sexual, emotional, economic, or psychological actions or threats of actions that influence another person. This includes any behaviors that intimidate, manipulate, humiliate, isolate, frighten, terrorize, coerce, threaten, blame, hurt, injure, or wound someone.

The statistics are sobering.

About 5 million acts of domestic violence occur annually to women 18 years and older, and another 3 million target men, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. About 1.5 million intimate partner female rapes and physical assaults are perpetrated annually.

According to the Orange County Health Care Agency, one in four women will be victimized by domestic violence. There is hope, however. There are organizations and counselors available at the local and national level:

—WomenShelter of Long Beach (www.womenshelterlb.org). Call 562-437-HOME (4663)

—Interval House (www.intervalhouse.org) has a 24-hour crisis hotline. Call 714-891-8121.

—Women’s Transitional Living Center (wwwstic.org) provides a 24-hour bilingual hotline at 877-531-5522.

—Human Options (www.humanoptions.org) has a 24-hour toll free hotline at 877-854-3594.

—Laura’s House (www.laurashouse.org) has a 24-hour toll free hotline at 866-498-1511.

—The Orange County Social Services Agency provides information and resources at ssa.ocgov.com.

NATIONAL

—National domestic violence hotline: 1-800-799-7233 or, for the deaf or hard of hearing, 1-800-787-3224.

—The National Coalition Against Domestic Violence website at https://ncadv.org/has a plethora of information regarding resources, including shelters and legal support.

For those of you experiencing domestic violence, we leave you with this quote from author Christine Mason Miller: “At any given moment, you have the power to say this is not how the story is going to end.”