I do not usually write on this topic, although I feel strongly about it.
Yesterday, a friend of my family, a young woman in her 20s, was beaten with a baseball bat by her ex-boyfriend. She is in the ICU with terrible injuries. We don't know if she will survive. Someone else was there, heard the attack, got the bat and beat the attacker who is also in the ICU. That means three young lives have been irrevocably changed, and two of them may end. I don't know what will happen to the third person. Will he go to prison?
We are too accepting of violence and aggression in the U.S. We put "domestic" violence in a separate category as if it is somehow less heinous than stranger on stranger violence. We need to stop tolerating violence, domestic or otherwise.
If you suspect abuse in a household, report it. Let the authorities sort it out. Help the abused person. Donate to the local women's shelter. Call the Department of Child Protection or Senior Services when you suspect child or elder abuse. Do not look the other way. Support projects like ViolenceUnsilenced.com, where people can speak out and educate others.
There is nothing domestic about violence. We need to stop turning a blind eye and do something to stop it.