Love doesn’t hurt

So I have not (at least not that I remember) included any celebrity gossip in this blog.

I don't consider domestic violence a matter of gossip. I'm baffled, not just about the details of the beating case concerning two young singers, Chris Brown, 19 and Rihanna, 21, as they have been released, but about the spectrum of reactions.

Everyone is tiptoeing around the subject, even in this clip from Oprah, even after the trial details were released.

I am speechless, especially because both of these young singers are role models to thousands.

Looking into domestic violence resources on the internet:

The statistics are astounding, according to the National Domestic Violence Hotline website http://www.ndvh.org/:

Approximately 8 in 10 (79%) respondents recall “seeing or hearing something” about domestic violence in the past year. Furthermore, 53 percent say that they have heard of the National Domestic Violence Hotline. This percentage increases substantially among those people who admit that they have been victims of domestic violence (71%).Approximately 33 million or 15% of all U.S. adults, admit that they were a victim of domestic violence. Furthermore, 6 in 10 adults claim that they know someone personally who has experienced domestic violence.

1 in 4 teens (24%) reported feeling pressure to date; 14% said they would do almost anything to keep a boyfriend or girlfriend.

3 out of 5 (61%) [teens] said that they’ve had a boyfriend or girlfriend who made them feel bad or embarrassed about themselves.

30% [teens] reported worrying about their personal physical safety in a relationship.

1 IN 4 WOMEN, 1 IN 9 MEN IN UNITED STATES ARE VICTIMS OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AT SOME POINT IN THEIR LIVES

23.6% of women and 11.5% of men aged 18 years or more have a lifetime history of intimate partner violence victimization.

• Highest percentage for women is adults aged 45-54 (31.2%)
• Highest percentage for men is adults aged 25-34 (21.4%)

1 out of 3 women around the world has been beaten, coerced into sex or otherwise abused during her lifetime.

As many as 324,000 women each year experience intimate partner violence during their pregnancy.

National Coalition Against Domestic Violence has a list of state resources.

CDC has Intimate Partner Violence resources.