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Category: domestic violence

What Will My Job Think?

In 2018, I was fired for becoming a mother. Until that point, I had a long and prestigious marketing career and high hopes for my future. But that future quickly escaped me. While job hunting, every interviewer asked about the end date on my resume. I was forced to disclose that I was a new mom and that’s where most conversations ended.  I found myself pushed out of the labor force and into being a stay-at-home mom completely dependent on my husband. The experience shocked me to m... Read More
Posted by Lynn Brewer-Muse at Monday, May 3, 2021

Mad Love

            It was a warm September afternoon in 1992 when the world was first introduced to the Maiden of Mischief, the Cupid of Crime, or as most know her as, Harley Quinn. First appearing in Batman: The Animated Series, the episode “Joker’s Favor” opens to Harley Quinn, dressed in her red and black jester suit, cheering on the narcissistic Joker as he parades around and shares his latest crime scheme. Harley Quinn was... Read More
Posted by Lynn Brewer-Muse at Monday, April 26, 2021

Bystander Paralysis: It Happens to Everyone – Even Domestic Violence Experts

I have several years of experience in violence prevention and victim services for power based violence. “Power based violence is a form of violence that has a primary motivator: assertion of power, control and/or intimidation in order to harm another. This includes relationship/partner violence, rape/sexual assault, stalking, and other uses of force, threat, intimidation, or harassment of an individual (University of Missouri, (n.d.)” I even studied it in school. So I should ... Read More
Posted by Lynn Brewer-Muse at Monday, February 15, 2021

Top 5 Blog Posts of 2020

NCADV has already shared 2020's most-read news stories and guest blog posts. Now, it's time to reveal the top 5 most-read blog posts of the year.  #5 Quick Guide: Economic and Financial Abuse April is recognized as Financial Literacy Month in the U.S., and it's a topic we here at NCADV believe is an important one for domestic violence victims and survivors. Up to 99% of domestic violence victims experience economic abuse during an abusive relationship, and finances are ofte... Read More
Posted by Lynn Brewer-Muse at Monday, December 28, 2020

NCADV Announces Recognizing (Y)Our Power Workshops

NCADV is excited to share details for our workshop lineup at Recognizing (Y)Our Power! Click on any topic area below to read more details about workshops or just keep scrolling down this page to read all of them. And ... don't forget to register! Activism, Social Justice and Community Outreach  Advanced Advocacy Skills  Anti-Oppression and Racial Justice  Capacity Building and Leadership Children, Teens, and Young A... Read More
Posted by Lynn Brewer-Muse at Wednesday, July 29, 2020

What Domestic Violence Organizations Need to Know about Coronavirus

Updated, 4/3/2020 We hope all of you are staying well and are in as good of spirits as you can be. As always, thank you for your dedication to victims and survivors of violence! We know what a roller-coaster of emotions current day-to-day challenges bring and hope you are finding ways to care for yourselves as you care for others.  Additionally, we applaud the efforts of the many people and organizations working together to provide as much information as possible to the anti-violence c... Read More
Posted by Lynn Brewer-Muse at Friday, March 13, 2020

The Revictimization Game

At the age of 82, I thought I was long past feeling the poison cocktail of emotions: shame, anxiety, fear, grief, anger and nothing that accompanied being a victim of domestic abuse. Then I read of the social media garbage thrown at high-profile women whose partners have humiliated, stalked, beaten, shot …. I’ll let you fill in the rest. If you’re reading this, you can probably extend the list for three or four more lines. Now I feel all those feelings, but mostly anger. ... Read More
Posted by Lynn Brewer-Muse at Thursday, January 30, 2020

NCADV Receives Support from Madonna's Powerful Video on Gun Violence Prevention

Madonna today unveiled a powerful video for “God Control” from her new album Madame X. Directed by frequent Madonna video collaborator Jonas Åkerlund, the visually-arresting video unites art and activism as it addresses the important topic of gun control. “God Control,” produced by Madonna and Mirwais, evokes the heady sound of the disco era, juxtaposing the unbridled freedom of dancing in a club with the brutal and silenc... Read More
Posted by Lynn Brewer-Muse at Wednesday, June 26, 2019

What Most People Missed When They Watched “Lorena”

I recently watched “Lorena,” the Amazon miniseries documenting the relationship of Lorena and John Wayne Bobbitt. For those who don’t remember, the Bobbitts became tabloid fodder in 1993 when Lorena cut John’s penis off after enduring years of rape and physical abuse. I found myself thinking about what had changed—and what had not changed—since 1993, and then stopped short (spoiler alert). One of the final scenes shows Bobbitt shooting at tar... Read More
Posted by Lynn Brewer-Muse at Tuesday, February 26, 2019

NCADV Statement on Recent Article and the Definition of Domestic Violence

The National Coalition Against Domestic Violence (NCADV) has received a number of inquiries about an April 2018 change to the Office on Violence Against Women’s (OVW) website highlighted in a Slate opinion piece. Before the change, the website described domestic violence as an advocate would, which includes verbal abuse, economic abuse, and other forms of abuse that are common but may not be illegal. The website now references the statutory definition of domestic violence for Violence A... Read More
Posted by Lynn Brewer-Muse at Wednesday, January 30, 2019

Domestic Violence and the LGBTQ Community

Because the majority of the domestic violence awareness movement has focused on heterosexual relationships, members of the LGBTQ community have been largely left out of the movement. However, recent research shows that LGBTQ members fall victim to domestic violence at equal or even higher rates compared to their heterosexual counterparts. 9 Quick Statistics about Domestic Violence and the LGBTQ Community 43.8% of lesbian women and 61.1% of bisexual women have experienced rape, physical ... Read More
Posted by Lynn Brewer-Muse at Wednesday, June 6, 2018

Quick Guide: Domestic Violence and Sexual Abuse

April is recognized as Sexual Assault Awareness Month, an opportunity to educate people and raise awareness about sexual assault. Sexual violence refers to crimes like sexual assault, rape, and sexual abuse. In the United States, 1 in 5 women will be raped in her lifetime, and nearly 1 in 2 women and 1 in 5 men will experience sexual violence victimization other than rape. With the recent #MeToo movement, sexual violence has never been such a large part of our national conversation. But what ... Read More
Posted by Lynn Brewer-Muse at Wednesday, April 4, 2018

Domestic Violence and People with Disabilities: What to Know, Why It Matters, and How to Help

March is recognized as National Disability Awareness Month, and the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence is taking an opportunity to raise awareness about people with disabilities who also experience domestic violence.    Six Facts About People with Disabilities and Domestic Violence Did you know ... People with disabilities have a higher lifetime prevalence of experiencing abuse than people without disabilities.  People with disabilities experience violent crime... Read More
Posted by Lynn Brewer-Muse at Tuesday, March 13, 2018

I Don't Know About You ... But Lately I'm Feeling Violated

Lately I am feeling violated with the online headlines that announce that the latest celebrity or politician has sexually abused someone.  When I can't sleep, memories of sexual abuse and torture I suffered as a young wife more than 30 years ago creep into my consciousness alive and well, playing themselves out as if it was yesterday.  I learned that the name for this is “Complex post-traumatic stress disorder (C-PTSD)* which happens as the result of enduring complex traum... Read More
at Thursday, January 18, 2018

NCADV Applauds Introduction of Fix NICS Act

The National Coalition Against Domestic Violence applauds the introduction of the Fix NICS Act, led by Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) and Senator Chris Murphy (D-CT), a bipartisan, bicameral bill to fix the broken background check system. Members of Congress on both sides of the aisle have come together in a demonstration of good governance and solidarity. The gun violence prevention movement and the gun lobby agree on one thing: we need to improve the submission of records into the National Inst... Read More
Posted by Lynn Brewer-Muse at Thursday, November 16, 2017

NCADV Grieves with Sutherland Springs and Demands Action

The National Coalition Against Domestic Violence (NCADV) grieves with the families in Sutherland Springs who lost loved ones to hateful violence and with a community that will spend years healing. We also extend our best wishes for a full and speedy recovery for those wounded in the attack.   This morning,  NCADV Executive Director Ruth Glenn had this to say:     “Prohibiting all abusers, including dating abusers and stalkers, from possessing guns and requiring ba... Read More
Posted by Lynn Brewer-Muse at Monday, November 6, 2017

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Effective October 6, 2022, The National Coalition Against Domestic Violence (NCADV) and the National Domestic Violence Hotline (The Hotline) have joined together. To learn more about this exciting venture, to expand the eco-system of holistic and inclusive support for survivors and advocates, please visit Project Opal.