Men Are Abuse Victims, too.
In most cases Domestic Violence occurs in the lives of Women and is usually inflicted by a man. This could be a husband, partner, or friend. But I would like to give you a view of the other side of the coin if you will. I am now a 65-year old man, but to this day, I still suffer the effects of Domestic Violence that occurred in my case as a young child. Unlike most cases of DV where the victim is the woman and the abuser is the man, in my case it was exactly the opposite.
As a young child, I witnessed and lived with the abuse that my mother inflicted on my father, my brother, and myself. Neither my mother or my father are alive today, but even from the grave they have had and, if I’m not careful, continue to have a negative impact on my life.
In the weeks ahead on this blog, I will go over what my experience was from a small child’s perspective, growing up in a house victimized by DV, and long term effects DV can have on an adult. I will describe in detail, just what happened to our family of four that was controlled by my mother, and what the results and ramifications were and are today.
Domestic Violence is something that happens to all lifestyles, rich or poor, young or old, male and female, regardless of race, or ethnicity. It is my hope that what you will read over the next three weeks will help you see that DV is not just a male perpetrator and a female victim. In some cases, although certainly not the majority, it can be the other way around.
Next week, I will describe what happened in detail in our house of horrors. Then in the remaining two weeks, I will talk about how this behavior affected my father, my brother, and myself. I hope you will check back to this blog throughout the remainder of this month, and follow a true life event with real ramifications. It is my further hope and prayer, that if you see a man or child that is being victimized by this type of DV, that it will encourage you to take action, if it’s yourself, or direct the victim you recognize to take action in the form of preparing for a hurricane as we have discussed in previous Reach Out Speak Out posts.
