It is a well known fact that domestic violence against women has become a worldwide issue. Many laws have been established to protect against domestic violence against women in California.
However, it is little known that as many as 900,000 men are victims of physical violence by a domestic partner, according to a report by the Department of Justice on the National Violence Against Women Survey.
National Domestic Violence Hotline
The National Domestic Violence Hotline was established in 1996 as a component of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), as a nonprofit organization that provides crisis intervention, information and referral to victims of domestic violence , perpetrators, friends and families. The Hotline answers a variety of calls and is a resource for domestic violence advocates government officials, law enforcement agencies and the general public.
The gender breakdown of callers to the hotline is 85 percent women to 15 percent men.
Domestic Violence Against Men
Although this may seem like a comparatively small number in men, many male victims do not report or discuss abuse against them. Reports to police are also rare as most men do not call authorities unless injuries they sustain are serious enough to result in emergency medical care.
The Department of Justice reported on men who stay in abusive relationships. Their studied indicated that the top 3 reasons that a man will stay in an abusive relationship are:
- Protecting their children
- Assuming blame
- Dependency
How to Divorce an Abusive Spouse
Domestic violence is not okay. You should not try to make excuses for your spouse or blame yourself for this type of conduct. Domestic violence is toxic, and can harm not only yourself, but your spouse, your family members, and your children as well.
Regardless of your gender, if you are the victim of domestic violence, the first and most important step is to protect yourself from your abuser, get out of the situation and make the violence or abuse stop. There are many ways you can do this through the court system, including filing for a domestic violence restraining order to protect you, your family, and those residing with you.
Once you have fully protected yourself from your spouse, you should consider divorce. Having a domestic violence restraining order placed against your spouse can be beneficial to you in your divorce case and can have a significant impact on child custody, child support, and spousal support.
Call Wallin & Klarich Today
If you are a victim of domestic violence and are seeking divorce, you need to speak with an experienced family law attorney right away. With over 30 years of experience, the attorneys at Wallin & Klarich have successfully handled thousands of divorce cases involving domestic violence.
With offices in Riverside, San Bernardino and Victorville, we can help you no matter where you are located throughout the inland Empire.
Call a Wallin & Klarich experienced domestic violence lawyer for a consultation at (888) 749-7428. We will get through this together.
