In January, President Barack Obama signed a proclamation declaring February 'Teen Dating Violence Awareness and Prevention Month'- bringing national attention to a growing problem.
The sad truth is that there are millions of people in this country who suffer some kind of violence at the hands of their loved ones each year-- but they almost never tell anyone. Adult and Teen domestic violence isn’t just about hitting- yelling, threatening, or acts of possessiveness or harassment. Abuse takes many different forms and includes behavior such as name calling, isolation, withholding of money and sexual assault.Does your partner:
§ constantly criticize you and your abilities as a spouse or partner, parent or employee?
§ behave in an over-protective manner or become extremely jealous?
§ threaten to hurt you, your children, pets, family members, friends or themselves?
§ prevent you from seeing family or friends?
§ get suddenly angry or "lose their temper"?
§ destroy personal property or throw things around?
§ deny you access to family assets like bank accounts, credit cards, or the car, or control all finances and force you to account for what you spend?
§ use intimidation or manipulation to control you or your children? Hit punch, slap, kick, shove, choke or bite you?
§ prevent you from going where you want to, when you want to, and with whomever you want to?
§ make you have sex when you don't want to or do things sexually that you don't want to?
§ humiliate or embarrass you in front of other people?
Many of us involved in crime prevention have at some point in our careers been involved in educating and working to prevent domestic violence among adults and teens who may be in a dangerous- even deadly- situation. As your Sheriff, I ask you to reach out and talk with our young people and make sure they are educated about what to do if they're in an abusive relationship.
The Richland County Sheriff’s Department offers a women’s self defense course free of charge to the public. This is a crime prevention program that utilizes techniques that are specifically designed for women to reduce the likelihood of victimization empowering women to recognize their strengths and make sound decisions when faced with potentially dangerous situations.
For more information and class schedules visit http://www.rcsd.net/inv/vicassist-self-defense.html or call Sgt. Maria Yturria of the Victim Services Unit at 803-576-3463.
http://www.rcsd.net/
