The CDC estimates that nearly 41% of women and 26% of men have experienced sexual violence, physical violence or stalking by a partner during their lifetime. The month of October is dedicated to bringing awareness to and standing with those who have experienced or are currently experiencing domestic violence.

Domestic Violence Awareness Month not only serves to bring awareness and support to those who have experienced or are experiencing domestic violence but also to educate others on how to talk about the topic.  

“The roots of DV relationships are based on power and control wherein one partner feels the need to dominate the other, which can lead to violence,” said the Trauma Outreach Team at the University Counseling Center via email. “Research tells us that people with abusive tendencies generally turn violent when they feel out of control.” 

Violence is never limited to physical harm. Other forms of violence and abuse are also contributors to domestic violence. 

“Emotional violence, psychological abuse, financial — and something we see a lot on college campuses now is academic abuse — are all forms of violence,” said Nataly Meza, sexual violence prevention coordinator at the Women’s Resources Center. 

Someone experiencing domestic violence doesn’t have to experience physical violence in order to access resources, there are resources for all contributors.

“Sometimes people may think that because they’re not getting physically harmed, they don’t need resources or they don’t deserve resources, and that’s something that we want to break away from,” Meza said.

Misconceptions about violence are not the only factors that are misconstrued when discussing domestic violence. 

“A lot of people don’t realize that when we talk about domestic violence, people usually think about people who maybe have some sort of romantic relationship or familiar relationship, and this can definitely be the case,” said Jaya Kolisetty, executive director of RACES. “But when we’re talking about the more technical definition of domestic violence, that can actually include anyone who shares a residence.”

There are many causes for spikes and dips in rates of domestic violence. Bridges Domestic Violence Center reports a 12% increase in domestic violence during the summer months, but there is also a spike in cases during the holidays as well.

“The holidays is another time where people are with people who they know, in spaces where they should have every right to feel safe and expect to be safe, but unfortunately, people are taking advantage of those opportunities to be in close contact with someone,” Kolisetty said. 

Still, domestic violence runs rampant in people’s everyday lives. The National Domestic Violence Hotline reports an average of 24 people per minute are victims of domestic violence in the US.

“DV can happen to anyone, regardless of employment or educational level, race or ethnicity, religion, marital status, physical ability, age, sex, gender identity or sexual orientation,” the Trauma Outreach Team said. 

While every situation is different, trends in domestic violence report ties to shared spaces.  

“One of the things that’s important to recognize, both with domestic violence and with sexual violence, is the majority of the time that these incidents are happening, it’s happening to someone in a shared residence,” Kolisetty said. “The more people spend time with people that they know, unfortunately, that can lead to higher rates of sexual or domestic violence.”

Domestic Violence Awareness Month is an opportunity to bring to light the ongoing issue of domestic violence. The Women’s Resources Center urges people to talk openly and ask questions about domestic violence.

“There’s this thing where if we’re not talking about it, it’s not happening,” Meza said. “With talking about it people may be able to reflect on their own behaviors, their own ideologies, and be like ‘wait, maybe that isn’t very healthy.’”

Organizations within the University are using this month as an opportunity to educate people on what domestic violence is, its potential causes and preventable measures one can take when encountering domestic violence. 

The Women’s Resources Center and the Counseling Center will hold tabling events throughout the month with information and merch. While these resources are available to bring awareness to the issue, others are still urged to take action to bring awareness. 

“At WRC, we talk about it all throughout the year, but when more people are talking about it, you’re hearing it more, it’s in your feed more and it’s in the back of your mind,” Meza said.

The most important aspect of this month is how people educate themselves. Talking about domestic violence and learning about it is one aspect, but learning how to talk to survivors is another.

“When we’re talking about domestic violence, it’s really easy to just think about the darkness and negativity that surrounds it, but we really want to make people feel empowered to change if they have these behaviors or empowered to just talk about it,” Meza said. 

For those who are experiencing or have experienced domestic violence,  a list of resources is available at Illinois’ We Care website as well as an events calendar for the month on the Women’s Resources Center’s website.

“It can be really hard when someone we care about chooses to harm us, but they’re not alone,” Kolisetty said. “It’s not their fault, and there are folks who are available to support them.”

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