Misconceptions of Abuse
Eric Montes and Raylene Camerano
@ericmontes101 @RayleneCamerano
In Domestic Violence Awareness Month, the Domestic Violence Panel hosted a Misconception of Abuse presentation at the Chaffey Rancho campus on Wednesday, Oct. 24.
Dr. Sandra Gray opened the session with her domestic violence experience that involved her mother and father. She did not recall most childhood memories before the age of six, but had fragments of her father abusing her mother.
Dr. Gray is a representative of Eagle’s Wings. Eagle’s Wings is an organization that helps women who are trapped in domestic violence move from victimization to empowerment and freedom. Their services have provided the victims for food, clothing and shelters.
“Twenty to thirty women have been sheltered in every county. These victims are hiding from their abuser, who are afraid of going back,” Dr. Gray explains. “Domestic violence is the pattern of increasingly frequent and increasing severe physical, sexual, verbal, and psychological attacks, who then uses it against their intimate partners to obtain power and control. Once domestic violence starts, it will keep rolling and it never stops.”
As she was closing her explanation about domestic violence, she described how the brain is affected by it. There are three major response types to violence: fight, flight and freeze. Most survivors experience the freeze response while in a dangerous situation, and this reaction can affect memories and cognitive flexibility.
Gray claims every nine seconds, someone in the country is assaulted. 4,774,000 women are physically abused by their partners each year and three women are killed each day in intimate partner violence.
There are multiple reasons that women do not leave their current relationships, fear of financial insecurity after they leave. Gray further explains that survivors of domestic violence usually do not have anywhere to live if they decide to leave. This leaves them in a tough position that endangers survivors of falling into debt that their partner poured on them, or risk living in poverty. Proposition 1 is currently on the ballot to assist domestic violence survivors with their circumstances.
Proposition 1 will increase bonds for existing affordable housing programs to $4 billion. The proposition will work to assist groups such as veterans, homeless families, low-income families, people with disabilities and domestic violence victims.
The money will be funded by general obligation bonds. The $4 billion bonds are broken up into various sections of housing programs. $1.8 billion will be funded towards affordable multifamily housing projects, $1 billion in veteran house loans, $450 million in infrastructure programs, $450 million in homeowner programs, and $300 million in farmworker housing projects.
Factoring in housing costs, California has the highest poverty levels in the nation. The proposition offers additional money to help fund housing projects and give more individuals and families opportunities to loans and housing options. If yes vote on proposition 1 allows the State of California to issue $4 billion for housing projects for low income residents and veterans. Those who vote no would oppose the clearance of this $4 billion general obligation bonds.
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