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Safehouse
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"I know, like all empires before, this country will be crushed by the weight of its own deceptions unless we turn toward
the outcasts, the abandoned, like the women in the shelters, to witness essential humanity stirring and free even if, for
the moment, imprisoned by circumstance and history. I believe in the cooperative, equitable, and abundant place this country
is capable of becoming (and that once existed for most of my ancestors, the original peoples of this land). A vital step is
to realize the abundance within our own souls."
-- Luis J. Rodriguez
What is a Safehouse?
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A safehouse is a secure facility in an undisclosed location where battered women and their children can seek shelter, support,
education, and counseling.
This page was created on August 16, 2001, and will bring to you an ever-expanding compendium
of current statistics and other pertinent facts regarding domestic abuse.
As with the rest of our site, this page
welcomes your articles. Go to Contact Page to email your inquiries to us. Read on!
Excerpt from a report by Jill Davies...
A common image of a domestic violence victim is a woman with a black eye
and bruised face. Domestic violence is often understood as solely or primarily physical violence. However, physical violence
is just one of the tactics used by batterers to control their partners, and therefore it is just one of the risks battered
women and their children face. Batterers' controlling behavior may also cause risks to the children, psychological harm, the
loss of housing, health care, employment, or current standard of living. In addition, some battered women may not consider
the physical violence they are experiencing to be their greatest risk. For example, some battered women may see risks to the
children or the loss of financial support as their greatest danger.
A battered woman will face one set of batterer-generated
risks if she stays in the relationship and a different set if she leaves. Leaving a relationship does not guarantee the reduction
or elimination of violence, threats, or other risks. For some battered women, leaving may create new risks or increase existing
ones.
Battered women continually analyze the risks they face. Part of a battered womans risk analysis is consideration
of the effect that staying in or leaving the relationship will have on those risks. A question frequently asked about battered
women is, "Why do they stay?"
This question does not reflect the real issues and considerations a battered
woman must face. In contrast, the questions a battered woman may ask herself are more complete, such as: "Should I stay
and risk the violence?" "If I leave will the violence be worse?" "Should I leave and place myself and
my children in poverty?" "Should I leave and risk losing my children in a custody battle?"
You are a victim of domestic violence if you have experienced:
* beatings or physical attacks such as kicking,
slapping, punching, or hair pulling;
* threats that make you fear serious injury to yourself or your children;
* threats that make you fear for your life
* imprisonment within your own home or at another location
* forced sexual contact or rape under threats of harm to yourself or someone you care embarrassment or alarm because
of lewd or shocking behavior damage to your personal property;
* forced entry into your home, with or without a
weapon;
* threats with a weapon such as a gun or knife; and repeated verbal humiliation and attacks
click here for nationwide Domestic Violence hotlines and other resources
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WOMENS' SAFETY TIPS Please take the time to read
this. I know you are smart enough to know these pointers but there will be some, where you will go "hmm I must remember that".
After
reading this, forward it to someone you care about. It never hurts to be careful in this crazy world we live in.
1.
Tip from Tae Kwon Do: The elbow is the strongest point on your body. If you are close enough to use it, do!
2. Learned
this from a tourist guide to New Orleans . If a robber asks for your wallet and/or purse, DO NOT HAND IT TO HIM. Toss it away
from you.... chances are that he is more interested in your wallet and/or purse than you and he will go for the wallet/purse.
RUN LIKE MAD IN THE OTHER DIRECTION!
3. If you are ever thrown into the trunk of a car: Kick out the back tail lights
and stick your arm out the hole and start waving like crazy. The driver won't see you but everybody else will. This has saved
lives.
4. Women have a tendency to get into their cars after shopping, eating, working, etc., and just sit (doing their
checkbook, or making a list, etc. DON'T DO THIS! The predator will be watching you, and this is the perfect opportunity for
him to get in on the passenger side, put a gun to your head, and tell you where to go. AS SOON AS YOU GET INTO YOUR CAR, LOCK
THE DOORS AND LEAVE.
5. A few notes about getting into your car in a parking lot, or parking garage:
A.) Be aware:
look around you, look into your car, at the passenger side floor, and in the back seat.
B.) If you are parked next to a
big van, enter your car from the passenger door. Most serial killers attack their victims by pulling them into their vans
while the women are attempting to get into their cars.
C.) Look at the car parked on the driver's side of your vehicle,
and the passenger side. If a male is sitting alone in the seat nearest your car, you may want to walk back into the mall,
or work, and get a guard/policeman to walk you back out. IT IS ALWAYS BETTER TO BE SAFE THAN SORRY. (And better paranoid than
dead.)
6. ALWAYS take the elevator instead of the stairs.(Stairwells are horrible places to be alone and the perfect
crime spot).
7. If the predator has a gun and you are not under his control, ALWAYS RUN! The predator will only hit
you (a running target) 4 in 100 times; And even then, it most likely WILL NOT be a vital organ. RUN!
8. As women, we
are always trying to be sympathetic: STOP IT! It may get you raped, or killed. Ted Bundy, the serial killer, was a good-looking,
well educated man, who ALWAYS played on the sympathies of unsuspecting women. He walked with a cane, or a limp, and often
asked "for help" into his vehicle or with his vehicle, which is when he abducted his next victim.
9. Another Safety
Point: A Crying Baby. Someone just told me that her friend heard a crying baby on her porch the night before last, and she
called the police because it was late and she thought it was weird. The police told her "Whatever you do, DO NOT open the
door." The lady then said that it sounded like the baby had crawled near a window, and she was worried that it would
crawl to the street and get run over.
The policeman said, "We already have a unit on the way, whatever you do, DO NOT open
the door." He told her that they think a serial killer has a baby's cry recorded and uses it to coax women out of their homes
thinking that someone dropped off a baby. He said they have not verified it, but have had several calls by women saying that
they hear baby's cries outside their doors when they're home alone at night.
Please pass this on! and DO NOT open the door
for a crying baby. This e-mail should probably be taken seriously because the Crying Baby theory was mentioned on America
's Most Wanted this past Saturday when they profiled the serial killer in Louisiana .
Please forward this to all the
women you know. It may save a life. A candle is not dimmed by lighting another candle. I was going to send this to the
ladies only, but guys, if you love your mothers, wives, sisters, daughters, etc., you you may want to pass it onto them, as
well.
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