one in three

One in three women will experience domestic violence in their life time. That's 33%. Thirty freaking three percent. That's ridiculous.

That means, if you're sitting in a room with your sister, your mother, and your grandmother, statistically one of them will or have experienced domestic violence. That puts it into perspective. We can all say we don't know someone who has experienced domestic violence, but I think we know that's a myth.

Many women experience violence from spouses and loved ones, it's about whether they speak up or not. Women who don't speak up are not any less brave than the women who do. They're scared though, and we can't ignore that.

A couple of weeks ago, I was talking to an acquaintance. We aren't really friends but have (or had) a mutual "friend". This acquaintance is sixteen and pregnant, and I believe she is being brainwashed. That's a big claim, I know, but listen. Her boyfriend has cheated on her with three girls. THREE and that was all at the same time. He blatantly disrespects her, I've seen screenshots of the texts he sends her. But the thing that got me the most was the fact that she was scared of him. Of him yelling at her. Of him raising his hand and almost hitting her. Of him balling up his fists and almost throwing a punch.

I told her to get out, but she didn't listen. He loves her, or that's what he says. I'm not judging, I just hope she gets out from under his controlling grip before she or her baby are hurt.

I'd like to think I'd have the courage to leave a relationship like that. I just hope I'm never in a relationship like that. I hope I never feel so controlled that I'm literally scared of my husband or boyfriend every time he moves.

Some terrifying statistics provided by the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence:

• Every 9 seconds in the US a woman is assaulted or beaten
• On a typical day, there are more than 20,000 phone calls placed to domestic violence hotlines nationwide
• Women between the ages of 18-24 are most commonly abused by an intimate partner
• Domestic victimization is correlated with a higher rate of depression and suicidal behavior
• Only 34% of people who are injured by intimate partners receive medical care for their injuries
• The presence of a gun in a domestic violence situation increases the risk of homicide by 500%
• 1 in 4 men have been victims or some form of physical violence by an intimate partner within in their lifetime

This last statistic doesn't get talked about enough. Yes, women are most affected by domestic violence. And when I hear about domestic violence, I usually associate it with women, but men are also victims. Whether that be in heterosexual or homosexual relationships. Men are rape victims as well. We can't forget that, we need to advocate for everyone if we're ever going to eliminate or decrease domestic violence.

We need to stand together, or things will only get worse.

When looking up domestic violence hotline number on my phone, a scary warning popped up. It was a pop up that could block me from visiting the website because many abusers monitor computer and internet history. That's terrifying.

Domestic Violence hotline: 1-800-799-7233

stay peaceful (and safe)!!