October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month. And that’s a very sad thing to have to write in the 21st Century; here, in the United States.
But the statistics bear out a terrible truth about our nation and the hidden values we harbor as a people. Do we value abuse? Not on the surface, but we have preserved it generation after generation, either through fear, apathy or ignorance.
We have incorporated it not only into our family culture, but also peripherally into our economy, our social services and our politics. As a nation, this abuse costs $5.8 billion a year, most of that in medical bills, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report on the costs intimate partner abuse. The costs in lost wages and productivity and lifetime earnings also adds up, as do the costs in terms of law enforcement, ambulance runs and the criminal justice process, which one study puts at $67 billion a year. In Oregon, it’s estimated to cost the state more than $50 million each year.
That doesn’t even begin to account for the loss in lives.
The statistics are sickening, and staying silent about them is perpetuating the sickness. Fact is, we just don’t talk about it, even though we see it right out in the open.
As a result of abuse in the home, thousands of Portland youths run away from their circumstances, many of them landing on the streets. Some have been “aged out” of the foster care system, where there are never enough homes to meet the need. These youths are joined by women fleeing abusive partners, gay and lesbians, and yes, men — all beaten down by the violence in one form or another, only to encounter a new kind on the streets. Domestic violence crosses all class lines, all colors and creeds. And it is intertwined with mental illness, another misunderstood and underaddressed problem in our community.
It’s penny wise and pound-foolish to think we can treat the patients while ignoring the epidemic.
Greater support is needed from the federal and state levels to act on domestic violence as a root cause of not only the obvious — pain and suffering — but also poverty and homelessness. If we connect the dots we might find out that homelessness isn’t just a personal failing, but a societal flaw that can be traced to how we raise our children and how we judge each other’s circumstances. More importantly, we could learn how to fight for adequate funding and policy guidance to ensure that our programs truly are a safety net to help people not only survive, but prevent the damage from being done in the first place.
At the Domestic Violence Summit on Oct. 7, you can learn more about domestic violence, it’s impact on individuals and our community, and you can find out how to turn up the volume on this issue. Go to Pioneer Courthouse Square that Sunday and hear what’s going on around us, only this time out loud.
And then make a trip to the Hip Chicks Do Wine Gala Sunday on Oct. 15 to support the Portland Women’s Crisis Line, one of the first lines of defense for domestic abuse victims. Check out the calendar of events for more information.