National Domestic Violence Awareness Month is one we hold close in our hearts. The plight of abused individuals keeps growing, and with COIVD-19 the increase of violence continues to grow with the conditioned loss and layoffs of jobs that are still part of our lives. We ask for you to take note of the 2020 statistics below: 

• The prevalence of Intimate Partner Violence (IPV is another name for domestic violence) is high, and approximately affects more than 12 million people each year (both men and women).

• Half of all women and men (48%) in the United States have experienced psychological aggression by an intimate partner or family member in their lifetime. 

• Domestic Violence survivors suffer from high levels of depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

• Due to serious health consequences of IPV, several professional medical societies, such as the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, and the American Medical Association, recommend universal or routine screening for IPV. However, screening for, and detection of IPV in the health sector is poor and many survivors are never identified.  Therefore, efforts to reduce the health and wellness effects of exposure to violence may be more effective if integrated into settings where survivors seek help, such as community agencies providing victims'/survivors' support and therapeutic services. 

For victims, survivors and witnesses remembering and telling the truth about terrible events are prerequisites both for the restoration of their social order, and for healing of every individual that may have been exposed. When the truth is finally recognized, all survivors can begin their recovery. Too often secrecy prevails, and the story of the traumatic events surface not as a verbal narrative but as somatic symptom in their body; alternating feeling numb to reliving the event. This is where DV victims, survivors, witnesses and supports need self-regulating tools to help them make it to another day. 

Please help support National 2020 Domestic Violence Awareness Month by wearing purple, volunteering and/or giving to local charities that support domestic violence programs in our city and state. We have published a free eBook to help victims, survivors, witnesses and their supports learn more about how somatic interventions can help there nervous system experience self-regulation practices, please read more below. Please share this newsletter with anyone who may benefit from learning more about domestic violence, or may need safety resources or practice nervous system regulation tools for trauma experiences.