Domestic Violence - Where Are We Today?

When I was growing up, I believed that if your boyfriend, fiancé, or husband did not slap, hit or punch you. He did not love you.

Whenever he physically hurt you, he was just jealous because of the attention you give another guy, which made him afraid of losing you. He loved you so much that it filled him with jealousy, and hitting you was his only recourse.

Additionally, whenever domestic violence took place between a man and a woman, it was their business and no one else’s. Therefore, everyone else should keep out of it. If anyone were brave enough to talk with the woman about the abuse, the woman would accuse the “helper” of trying to break-up her relationship or marriage.

Therefore, my young mind understood that love equals jealousy and jealousy equals slapping, hitting or punching. Additionally, if anyone thought that this was abuse and it was wrong, they better keep quiet about it because the woman (in most cases) would not listen to the advice.

Well, we, that is, society has come a long way in terms of publicly crying out against this destructive course.

Nevertheless, the statistics worldwide where domestic violence is a concern are way too high, especially among the 15 - 55 age group.

Questions: Why is society still faced with this, and why are fifteen-year-olds in abusive relationships? Are we moving forward or, are we just spinning our wheels and getting nowhere?

Note: The term domestic violence is a broad term here. I am only talking about the abuse that takes place between a man and a woman.