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In 1999, the sisters of Sigma Psi Zeta formally adopted our National Philanthropy, To Combat Violence Against Women. As the first Asian-Interest sorority to take on this very worthwhile cause, Sigma Psi Zeta hopes to bring awareness of the issue to our universities and communities at large. For over a decade now, Sigmas have built a campaign to help those affected by this tragic violence, to educate the community about the nature of this problem, and to empower our sisters to make a lasting commitment to the issue of violence against women.
According to the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, one in four women will experience domestic violence within her lifetime. This statistic is especially relevant to college women, because females between the ages of 16 and 24 experience the highest rate of domestic violence.
Domestic violence is defined by the National Domestic Violence hotline as any behaviour within a relationship used to gain control or power over a partner. This behaviour can occur between people who are married, dating, or simply living together, whether the relationship is romantic or familial. Domestic violence includes intimidating, manipulating, humiliating and injuring another person.
There are three main types of Domestic Violence- physical, sexual, and emotional/psychological abuse. However, in many situations, victims of domestic violence experience a combination of two or more types.
Emotional abuse is the most difficult form of domestic violence to pin down, because it does not leave tangible scars ¡V but it is the most common form. Emotional abuse targets a victim's self-esteem, aiming to diminish the victim's identity and make her/him dependent on the other person. Emotional abuse includes all types of verbal abuse and emotional manipulation, such as insulting or calling the victim names, isolating the victim from family or friends, withholding affection as a manipulative weapon, and threatening harm to the victim, or to children or pets.
However, when threats are carried out, the type of abuse crosses from emotional to physical. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, 15% of people in prison in 1997 were there for a crime against a family member and 22% of murders in 2002 were family murders. Physical abuse includes any harming physical action (such as hitting, kicking, biting, choking) as well as more indirect actions, such as locking the victim alone in a room, keeping the victim from seeking medical attention. Using force in sexual situations is another unfortunate form of physical abuse, which is often classified by itself.
The most commonly recognized forms of sexual abuse are incest, molestation and rape, but all forms of sexual abuse are serious. Sexual abuse includes demanding that you dress or act in a sexual manner and physically abusing you during sex.
Although women are the victimized gender in most instances of domestic violence, men can suffer abuse as well. The National Coalition Against Domestic Violence states that in 2001, 85% of domestic violence victims were female, and 15% were male.
Want to know more? Check out any of the Philanthropy Links on our Links page to get more information on Domestic Violence. |
