‘It can be physical, mental, emotional’: Domestic violence during the holiday season
HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (WAFF) - The holiday season can bring families together, but for those who are in domestic violence situations, experts say this could be the worst time of year.
“The one thing that people have to keep in mind is that it could increase and we could not be aware of that because it’s not reported,” Cherrrelle Lock, with Crisis Services of North Alabama said.
Lock says financial stress, alcohol consumption, and tough family dynamics can all contribute to domestic violence during the holidays.
“A lot of times for our victims and survivors, they don’t come forward to their family members because there’s a level of shame, there’s a level of guilt,” Lock said “They start blaming themselves to believe they did something to deserve the abuse that’s taking place.”
Lock says 1 in 4 women are victims of domestic violence, and 1 in 7 men are victims. But she says most men don’t report it.
“You have a lot of individuals that experience domestic violence and you have to keep in mind, domestic violence isn’t always physical,” Lock said. “It can be physical, mental, emotional.”
“We also I would say have reports where we don’t have reports at this time of year when this is occurring, because of the holidays and the pressure of the holidays itself, and not wanting to break up a family,” Huntsville police department Sergeant Chris Jackson said.
HPD partners with crisis services of North Alabama. If an officer responds to a DV call, most of the time they will be joined by a domestic violence responder.
“Their main purpose is to secure the scene, protect the individuals on the scene,” Lock said. “The responder’s main purpose is looking at the mental, the physical, and the emotional for clients.”
Sergeant Jackson says if you’re in a domestic violence situation, call the police immediately. If someone is arrested for domestic violence in Alabama, they will be held without bond for 24 hours.
You can visit the crisis services website here.
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