domestic abuse

Content Warning: This post contains discussions of domestic violence.

The correlation between mental health and domestic violence is multifaceted and often cyclical. Individuals who experience domestic violence, whether physical, emotional, or psychological, often suffer from significant mental health issues due to the trauma they endure. It’s crucial to recognize that addressing both mental health and domestic violence is essential for breaking the cycle of abuse and promoting healing and recovery for survivors.

Domestic violence is associated with a range of physical and mental health effects. Being a victim of domestic violence is linked to an increased risk for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, and suicide. Exposure to traumatic events can lead to stress, fear, and isolation, which may lead to depression and suicidal thoughts or behavior.

According to the American Psychiatric Association (APA), 20% of survivors develop mental health conditions. These include:

Major depressive disorder
Generalized anxiety disorder
Post-traumatic stress disorder
Substance use disorders

The APA also states that survivors of domestic violence may blame themselves for the abuse they received. They can become self-critical, self-destructive, and suicidal. Chronic abuse can create trauma responses that interfere with future relationships. Survivors may struggle with emotional regulation, dissociation, and numbing, and have trouble reading social cues.

Researchers have found that mental health outcomes of domestic violence can become a vicious cycle. Survivors can believe they are powerless to control violent behavior or to develop resources to change their situation. This can potentially set up a long-term pattern of violent partnerships.

Violence also affects the children of those involved. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), children of people experiencing abuse are more likely to be abused. They also tend to have poorer school performance than their peers and higher rates of illness, including depression and anxiety. Witnessing domestic abuse is considered an adverse childhood experience (ACE). Such toxic stress in early life is linked to several negative health outcomes in adulthood, ranging from depression and substance use disorder to diabetes and heart disease.

Treating the Mental Health Effects of Domestic Violence

Mental health professionals who treat survivors of violence often use a trauma-informed approach. When counseling patients, they consider the distress the patient experienced and how it shapes the person’s beliefs and behavior. This approach focuses on creating a sense of safety and empowerment for patients. In treatment, patients can strengthen communication, learn stress management, and reduce feelings of isolation. Such skills may protect against future incidences of domestic violence.

In addition to individual counseling, group therapy can be helpful for survivors. In the context of a group, they can learn from others’ experiences and can shed feelings of isolation and secrecy.

At Northwest Arkansas Women’s Shelter, we are committed to providing support to survivors, including mental health services. Every client can receive free individual therapeutic services so that they can begin to understand, resolve, and heal from the trauma they have experienced specifically domestic violence-related trauma. We also offer a weekly support group where clients learn skills to help them cope with past experiences while building healthy relationships and a community with other clients. Support group also allows survivors to have a confidential setting to connect with other survivors who have experienced domestic violence.

For more information about these programs, please email us at info@nwaws.org.

Content Warning: This post and the articles discussed/linked contain discussions of domestic violence.

One in four American women will experience violence from a domestic partner in their lifetime, often resulting in significant trauma to the head and neck known as a traumatic brain injury. It is estimated that millions of women experience traumatic brain injuries (TBI) due to domestic violence (DV) every year and over 75% of domestic violence survivors suffer single or repeated traumatic brain injuries, most of which go unreported.

For many survivors of domestic violence, the impact of TBI on thinking and memory lasts long after the abuse ends. Even mild cases of traumatic brain injury, like concussion, can impart significant and long-lasting issues, and a single incident in which TBI occurs can result in long-term cognitive damage. Repeated physical abuse can accelerate the development of neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s or Parkinson’s and may even result in chronic traumatic encephalopathy, a fatal form of progressive brain degeneration that can only be diagnosed after death.

Despite these alarming statistics, the relationship between TBI and domestic violence remains largely unknown and critically under-researched. The connection between the two may be obvious in retrospect, but until these injuries are consistently screened for in domestic violence cases and also more regularly discussed, they cannot be addressed as they need to be. Talking about domestic violence is difficult, and many women may struggle to share their stories due to stigma, the threat of partner retaliation, and/or the lack of accessible medical care.

Raising awareness of the signs of domestic abuse can help more women come forward and receive the care and support they need – but the right systems must be in place for that to happen. Here at Northwest Arkansas Women’s Shelter, we are committed to providing that care and support and ensuring those systems are readily available for those who need them. In addition to funding research to better understand the connections between DV-TBI and CTE, people can support survivors by educating themselves about the signs of domestic violence and traumatic brain injury, how the two are connected, and championing domestic violence prevention organizations like ours.

For more information and resources about this subject please visit these web pages:

Written by Triniti Horner

Every college student knows the feeling of the spring semester. As it begins, students are fueled by the disdain for having to do anything after a three-week break. Spending the holidays with our families, eating too much food, and napping as much as possible and now professors want me to THINK for a living? No way. Alas, we must move on and look forward to warmer weather, and, if we’re lucky, a summer internship. As a Family and Human Services major, summer internships for my field in Northwest Arkansas are few and far between. Looking for internships is no easy feat. To decide whether or not you want to work for the state, a non-profit or a church, for money or for experience, inside or outside, administratively or hands-on – you get the idea. Amidst loads of coursework, we cast a wide net, hoping to catch one or two fish.

Thankfully, I landed the job here at NWA Women’s Shelter (NWAWS). The work this organization does is crazy important, and I’m not just saying that because I have to. Our goal is to fight back against domestic violence. This can include but is not limited to, physical, emotional, sexual, spiritual, cultural, or digital abuse. Domestic abuse comes in many shapes and sizes; our shelter seeks to recognize the nuances of abuse and provide the services that are necessary for our survivors. Our shelter is one of two in Northwest Arkansas. To explain why this is important, I will now throw some numbers at you, so be prepared for that. More than half a million people live in Northwest Arkansas, and about 40,000 people have or will experience domestic abuse whether that be from an intimate partner or someone else in their family. In Arkansas, 41% of females and 35% of males will experience domestic abuse at some point in their lives. (NCADV, 2020) With NWA being one of the most popular places to be in Arkansas, the number of people our shelter will serve is continually increasing. We are the only shelter in our area that serves clients who are escaping anything other than intimate partner violence. We love to help anyone who doesn’t feel safe in their homes and creates a place of safety for themselves and for their families.

Now that we have the numbers out of the way, what I would like to share with you readers are some of the questions that have come up for me over my past month working here. Why are you doing what you do? How are you showing up for the people around you and for yourself? How can I make a difference? I know these are simple questions, but for me, they have complex answers. Life can become monotonous. Waking up, going to work, eating the same lunch every day (shoutout to Walmart’s chicken salad), driving home, making dinner, watching TV, going to bed, and then repeating. The lifestyle many of us live and find boring at times, is one of privilege. Over the past couple of years, I have been learning to see where privilege shows up. Our nation has seen a lot of this in political, macro-sized conversations, but I’m not here to talk about that. I’m here to talk about micro-sized privilege in our day-to-day lives.

Why Are You Doing What You Do?

The people we serve in our shelters are fleeing for their lives. Each day is a fight to regain their life and freedom to be in charge of all areas of their personhood. This has pushed me to consider why I want to work for NWAWS. I am the Development and Thrift Store intern this summer. Thrift store? You may be asking, “Why do you work at a thrift store?” and honestly, I asked myself that, too. The NWAWS Thrift Store provides one of the most consistent and vital sources of revenue that helps the shelter to serve their clients. While at first glance, it may look like working retail (and I do get some experience with that), it is about the “why” we sift through bins of clothing, price them fairly, organize, hang them up, stand on our feet all day, smile when customers give us a hard time, and lift heavy boxes filled with donations. It will help us to better serve the men, women, and children who aren’t safe. Being involved, no matter how small it may seem, serves a larger purpose whenever we are fully committed to the mission. I’ve decided to work for NWAWS because I am fully committed to the mission of the shelter and will do whatever it takes to make sure people are cared for.

“How am I Showing up for the People Around Me and Myself?”

Oftentimes, I gauge how well I am showing up for others based on their responses to me. How others are around me, how they speak to me, and how we interact are all parts of this question. While working at the thrift store, I have the opportunity to get to know the women (and men!) that are part of making all that the shelter does possible. All of their personalities are beautiful and have something unique to bring to our work at NWAWS. They are all passionate, driven, hard-working, chatty, and fully themselves. But, as we all know, working with other people is hard. It’s hard to put up with their feelings as well as our own. It’s hard to know how our tone comes across when we speak to one another. It’s hard to communicate clearly and effectively, especially with new co-workers. It’s hard to show up personally and professionally. We’ve all had our moments at work where we were done and wanted to do nothing but lie on the couch and watch our favorite comfort show. However, working with other people is also beautiful. We learn, laugh, grow, and live life alongside each other. We get united under a specific and important goal. We get to see others thrive and do their work well. To me, that is what motivates me to go to work every day. I get to show up for others and in the process learn something deeper about myself. Whether I learn that I’m not awful at designing a graphic on Canva or that I am clumsy when people are watching me do a simple task, I am growing. Constantly blossoming into a better version of myself causes me to pour that goodness into my work. That’s how I want to show up for myself and others, in a way that fosters a further understanding of my coworkers as well as myself.

How do I Make a Difference?

The simple, yet complex answer I have come up with is: just be you. We live in a time when it feels hard to be unique. Social media has shown us what is popular, gets the most likes, and is most common. To stand out would be a risk. To be different is simultaneously praised and demeaned. What I would like to see in myself is the ability to take risks for causes that I am passionate about. Risks can be a plethora of different things. It can be the risk of volunteering—what some would consider “wasting” my own time. Or it could be the risk of using my knowledge of Spanish to speak to people in my second language, running the risk of messing up and offending someone. Whatever a risk looks like to you, I would encourage you to take it. Life is too short to be worried about what everyone else is doing. We are only in control of ourselves and how we are utilizing our time, privilege, and energy to make a difference in the lives of others.

So yeah, that’s what I’ve learned working here at the NWAWS. If anything I said resonates with you, please feel free to reach out to us and get more involved in what we do here. We love volunteers at our Thrift Store and are always willing to help when we are able to do so.

Click here for more information on volunteering or email Amber to get connected.

When you hear the term “domestic abuse”, what first comes to mind? Many of us first think of bruises and marks that come with a physical altercation. Maybe you also thought about financial control and emotional abuse that survivors so often report facing in their homes.

Often, we forget that spiritual abuse, or religious abuse, can be a part of the power & control dynamics in an abusive relationship—whether a romantic relationship, between family members, or between others in a household. While the news often references spiritual abuse in relation to religious leaders using controlling and abusive tactics with their parishioners or members (which is a serious issue), spiritual abuse by a partner or family member easily slips under the radar for many.

What is Spiritual Abuse?

Sometimes the best explanation is a story.

“Kathy” married her abusive husband after he pressured her to get married because of her religious beliefs. After being married a short time, he began isolating her and would not take her to church gatherings until it was far too late. After a few months of this, Kathy was so embarrassed that she stopped attending church and other gatherings all together. She could not talk freely about her relationship with others because her husband always found a reason to be in the room when she was on the phone or visiting. Eventually she opened up during a private conversation with a family member, who encouraged Kathy to leave. However, when she told her husband she wanted a divorce, he taunted her saying that she would go to hell for getting a divorce according to her beliefs.

Read Kathy’s full story here

Put simply, spiritual abuse involves controlling how and/or whether or not someone is able to practice their religion freely or using religion to manipulate or control that individual. Many times, religious texts are used to rationalize abusive behaviors and make those behaviors seem like they are okay, or even encouraged. Some abusers prevent their partner from fully participating in their religion (for example preventing them from participating in services or scheduled prayers). Other times, an abuser may sabotage their partner’s attempt to follow their religion, like preventing them from following dietary guidelines. Abusive people may also force their partner or family member into participating in certain activities (e.g. baptism) without their consent.

Regardless of how it happens, using religion as a tool to manipulate, coerce, threaten, or intimidate someone else is never okay.

While spiritual abuse normally is accompanied by other types of abuse (e.g. emotional abuse, financial control, intimidation, etc.), it can have serious implications on its own and it can be one of the biggest barriers for leaving an abusive situation. Many religious communities place a high value on the family unit and keeping marriages intact. Though not inherently a bad thing, these values often create additional barriers for a victim of abuse from reaching out for help or seeking safety, as it did in the case of Kathy. This is why it is so important for religious leaders of all types to be educated about domestic abuse and how to respond to it appropriately within their religious community.

What Can Religious Leaders Do?

Perhaps most critically, it is important for religious leaders to be informed about the dynamics of domestic violence so that when, not if, they encounter a member who is experiencing abuse, they actually help the situation instead of creating further harm. Many women who are religious will first reach out to a religious leader for assistance (1). However, many faith leaders report they lack knowledge about the dynamics of abuse or about local resources available to survivors of abuse (2).

With many abusers hiding in their religious communities, it is also crucial for pastors, clerics, and religious leaders to speak out against abuse from the pulpit. It is important for religious leaders to use language that is sensitive to the needs and concerns of survivors in how they speak. One report found that only 1/3 of Protestant pastors speak to their congregation more than once per year about domestic and sexual violence (2). If faith leaders rarely address the issue and are not cognizant of how their language may minimize or blame abuse on victims rather than abusive partners, they effectively send a message that abuse is acceptable and normal.

Because abusive partners are often completely different behind closed doors than they are at the synagogue, church, or mosque, many survivors of abuse are rightfully concerned they will not be believed by the people who worship and serve alongside their partner each week. Abusers are often very charming people of whom others think very highly. They also tend to isolate their victims from their support networks. So when a faith community refuses to believe that a member could be abusing their partner or children at home, they inadvertently isolate the victim even more.

Another problem is that well-meaning pastors and religious leaders frequently encourage counseling for couples who are looking at divorce or separation. This can be great for couples where abuse is not a factor. However, if abuse for couples where abuse is a factor, couples counseling will be detrimental if anything (3). The reason for this is because abuse is not a “couple’s issue” as so often is assumed; it is a personal issue that only the abusive person can be responsible for solving.

Rather than encouraging or performing couples’ counseling, religious leaders can encourage their parishioners experiencing abuse to receive individual counseling from someone who specializes in trauma and is familiar with domestic abuse. They can also help the abusive partner, if truly willing to change, to seek out specialized therapy for abusers that will address the power and control issues at the root. Most importantly, religious leaders and members of a faith community can hold abusive people accountable for their actions and ensure the person being abused is safe and supported during this process, acknowledging that being safe can mean separating from an abusive partner, sometimes permanently.

Religious communities have the opportunity to be a supportive and healing space for individuals who have experienced abuse. However, they can also perpetuate more harm than good without education and processes in place to best support victims of domestic violence. Navigating this can be difficult, but we can help.

Next Steps

At NWAWS we believe that everyone deserves the ability to freely express their faith and follow their spiritual beliefs without religion being used as a tool to trap them in an abusive situation. If you are experiencing spiritual abuse and would like to talk to someone, our confidential hotline is open 24/7 and our advocates are happy to speak with you.

If you are a religious leader or would like more information about supporting survivors of spiritual abuse, email Amber at alacewell@nwaws.org. We’d love to connect and support you as you seek to support survivors in your own community.

For further reading about spiritual abuse, domestic violence, and the faith community, visit these resources:

National Network to End Domestic Violence: https://nnedv.org/latest_update/domestic-violence-faith/

FaithTrust Institute: http://www.faithtrustinstitute.org/

Jewish Women International: https://www.jwi.org/

Sojourners Women & Girls Project: https://sojo.net/join/campaigns/women-girls

References:

http://religionanddiversity.ca/media/uploads/projects_and_results/biblio_and_case_law/strand_three_violence_and_religion_phase_1.pdf
“Broken Silence: A Call for Churches to Speak Out.” IMA World Health, We Will Speak Out U.S., Sojourners. https://sojo.net/resources/broken-silence-call-churches-speak-out-survey
A Policy Statement on Domestic Violence Couples Counseling: http://www.faithtrustinstitute.org/resources/articles/Policy-Statement-onDV-Couples-Counseling.pdf

(Photo Credit: www.thomasjstanley.com)

A number of years ago, Thomas Stanley published a best-selling book titled The Millionaire Next Door. In it, he describes the characteristics of individuals who achieve great wealth while attracting little attention to themselves. One of the ideas prevalent in the book is that the savers “next door” don’t seek attention or flaunt their wealth. In other words, you would not know they were millionaires by their behavior or lifestyle (7 Key Insights from The Millionaire Next Door).

There is another kind of person who lives next door to many of us, though we often fail to recognize it: a survivor of domestic violence. Like the millionaire next door, the survivor does nothing to attract your attention. Considering the numbers projected from the National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey, 1 in 3 women and 1 in 4 men will be victims of [some form of] physical violence by an intimate partner within their lifetime (NISVS 2010). This translates into approximately 136,000 individuals in Northwest Arkansas who will be victims of domestic abuse/violence during their lifetimes. So the likelihood that a survivor lives next door to you is fairly good. Hopefully the secret next door is not that one of your neighbors is currently a victim.

During my time in this field, I have learned that domestic violence knows no age, race, gender, economic or social conditions, or status in life. Domestic abuse is an effort by one person to control and dominate another through psychological, physical, sexual, emotional, or financials means, just to name a few. Each individual who is victimized experiences the abuse in their own unique way and it is not a ‘hell’ they want to broadcast to the universe. It is a story often shared only with those who have helped them rebuild their lives, their esteem, and their personal value–all of which were previously taken from them by their abuser.

Since domestic violence is painful experience both for the victim and also for those in close proximity to the victim (for example his or her children), being a survivor is not something most individuals freely discuss. Each victim and each child who lives in a house where domestic violence is prevalent suffers from wounds and scars that are invisible to those who are unaware.

Therefore, in your midst may be many people (both adults and children) who through courage, perseverance, and pure tenacity have righted their own ship and moved forward to live a life free of violence and abuse. It is a part of our responsibility as a shelter to be a team that helps all survivors change the course of their lives and enjoy a future with healthy relationships.

Our goal at the Northwest Arkansas Women’s Shelter is to help focus that courage, perseverance, and tenacity in a manner that makes the journey to a violence free life less cumbersome, fully supported, and productive. The requirement is not to reside in the shelter in order to receive services. It simply requires an individual to want to make that journey and to be willing to work towards it. And to the victims and survivors next door: we will not disclose your challenges. We will help you as you move along in your journey. We will support you and your child(ren) in a manner appropriate to your needs and consistent with our mission. That is our promise to you.

When an issue and experience is so personal that it cannot be talked about publicly, clearly it is easy to hide the information from those who are not privy to the intimate secrets of one’s past. There probably are not any outward signs of the abuse that would identify someone as a survivor of abuse. Survivors may have moved on, but the scars of the experience remain with them forever.

Just like with the millionaire next door, we should treat all people with dignity and respect because we do not know where they are or what their story has been.

Thank you to everyone who joined us at the NWA Women’s Shelter State of the Agency forum last night! Members of the NWAWS Board of Directors and staff were humbled by the response from our community and look forward to being more engaged with everyone as we take this new step forward.

As we discussed, the NWA Women’s Shelter is in a moment of critical need from our community. Without your support we will not be able to keep our doors open much longer. However, we know that our community deserves the services we offer and we believe that our community truly does want to help if they understand .

If you missed the forum, you can read a summary of our presentation and situation in this flyer.

We invite anyone who is interested in learning more about our vision and how you can help us get there by contacting our Executive Director, John McGee, at 479-246-0353 X101 or jmcgee@nwaws.org.

You may also download a pledge card or donate now to help us reach our short-term and long-term goals, allowing us to continue providing necessary help to our neighbors in need.

Diana’s Story*

Diana approached us after her husband was arrested. She had been married for several years and the abuse had been escalating from passive aggressive behavior to physical violence and threats of homicide. During this time she had lost her business and many friends due to the control and manipulation her abuser subjected upon her. Diana had to open a secret safety deposit box so she could keep important documents and family photos secure. She feared the worst when he was released from jail, and wanted to make sure that she would be safe.

Our advocates safety planned with Diana and also assisted her with filing an Order of Protection. She was able to secure her own housing without staying in shelter, but she still felt afraid and constantly worried that her abuser would find her and kill her like he always said. She wanted to purchase some home security devices, but after pricing the items she needed and realizing she could not afford them, Diana decided she would make some homemade booby traps and use those instead. Although she now had a way to be notified of an intruder, Diana still failed to feel safe at home and had a lot of trouble sleeping at night.

During this time Diana continued to come to our support groups and meet with our Support Services Advocate. She found it helpful to process what she had experienced with other survivors and began to feel like her life was coming back together. One day after support group, her advocate approached her about an opportunity. NWAWS had just received a donation of home security devices (window alarms, exterior motion lights, and home security signage) that clients could use to make their homes more secure and Diana was able to select several items that would work for her house.

Like Diana, many of our clients need support outside of our shelter. Last year, we were able to help 260 individuals on an outreach basis through our court advocacy program, support group, one-on-one meetings, job resources, or special events. Rebuilding one’s life after leaving an abusive partner or family member does not require a one-size fits all approach. Instead it requires a community of support and the ability to have needs—such as home security—met.

Through our support group and outreach programs, victims of domestic abuse are able to transition to becoming survivors by learning to find their own self and experiencing the freedom to become the person they have never been able to be. For the first time in a long time (or in some cases, ever), our clients begin to feel comfort and hope.

Our Support Services Advocate describes the transformation as simply “watching them grow”. She uses the illustration of a puzzle box: full with a thousand pieces, but so shaken and scattered that you do not know where to even begin putting it back together. Over time and with the support and guidance of others, these individuals begin to assemble their puzzle. By doing so, they begin rebuilding their lives.

A few weeks ago, Diana spoke to her advocate and shared that she can finally call her house, “home”. She was able to go and bring home her safety deposit box because today she feels safe. She feels complete.

Because of your support, we are able to help individuals like Diana create new lives without violence and fear. Peace of mind is something many of us take for granted but domestic violence survivors truly appreciate. Please consider joining our village and supporting us financially. It’s easy to do! Click here to donate online or here to learn more about donation options. Want to speak to someone directly? Please call our Development Director, Merritt Royal, at 479-246-0353 X 140.

Do you think you might be in need of our outreach services? Please call us 24/7 to speak with an advocate: 479-246-9999 or 1-800-775-9011.

*Name changed to protect privacy

(Above: Kay Harvey & Regina Gower look on as Julie Robins of White Wing Loft releases a dove at the Silent Witness Closing Ceremony)

Since 2013, we have recognized Domestic Violence Awareness Month (October) in a special way by holding the Silent Witness Project. Our campaign is a local display of the movement created by the Silent Witness National Initiative which began as a way to bring awareness to communities about the toll domestic abuse plays in families’ lives.

Northwest Arkansas Women’s Shelter uses this project to speak out against the recent domestic homicides that occurred in the state of Arkansas for the previous year. We do this by using life-sized red silhouettes to represent each victim (whether man, woman, or child) as we march and speak out on their behalf. We also place these silhouettes along with the story of the person that they represent in area businesses during the month of October so that others will learn more about the victim who is no longer with us.

Last fall, we honored the 11 lives that our state lost in 2014 due to domestic violence. Ten were women and one was the unborn child of one of the victims.

We marched with silhouettes representing them.

We read their stories and learned about the struggles they and other victims faced.

And we released doves for them as a symbolic way to release them from this earth.

Perhaps the most terrible result of domestic homicides is that while these 11 individuals do not get the opportunity to live their lives, in most cases their abusers do. We combat this cruel reality by recognizing and honoring the victims who are no longer able to share their stories with us. By speaking up for them and allowing their silhouettes to silently speak on their behalf, they are not forgotten and we hope their deaths are not in vain.

As advocates for our clients as well as all victims and survivors, we want to make sure their stories are heard and their struggles are shared. Domestic abuse is a community problem and it will take all of us working together to correct it.

Booth at the Silent Witness Opening Ceremony

Marchers at the March to End Violence in Downtown Rogers

Marchers at the March to End Violence

Detective Glynn Bertrand of Bentonville Police Department speaks about how domestic abuse affects us

John McGee and Leslie Folsom hold the March Banner

Kay Harvey shares her story and the story of her daughter who was killed two years ago.

Booth at the Silent Witness Opening Ceremony

Dr. Todd Kitchens shares NWACC’s role in reducing domestic violence

John McGee, Executive Director of NWAWS, explains how domestic violence effects NWA

Regina Gower shares her sister’s story

Kay Harvey and Regina Gower look on as Julie Robins releases a dove

Special thanks to the committee members and partners who helped make this year a success! We appreciate you!

For more photos of our 2015 Silent Witness events, check out our Facebook page. To learn more about Silent Witness, click here. Interested in getting involved? Send Amber an email at alacewell@nwaws.org.

Our crisis line rings every day. Even on the holidays.

Last year, our advocates and volunteers took a total of 1800 crisis calls. When compared to all the calls we answered, over 80% of our phone calls each day were from victims of violence or their families who are seeking our services. Our commitment to Northwest Arkansas is to always be available to take those calls, 24/7/365.

Domestic abuse does not take a break for holidays or weather. It happens in our community on a daily basis whether we admit it or not. The National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey [1] found that more than 1 in 16 women and 1 in 20 men experienced rape, physical violence, and/or stalking by an intimate partner in the year prior to their survey.

If we compare those numbers with our NWA population of an estimated 500,000 people, we would expect that over 25,000 individuals were abused by intimate partners last year alone.

Thankfully the Northwest Arkansas Women’s Shelter has a service that can help. Anyone can contact our crisis line to receive support, make plans for safety, or simply share their story. We welcome these calls because it means abused individuals are reaching out for the help they need and our hope is that we can assist each person as they move toward a violence free life.

More information about the hotline calls we took in 2015:

106 callers were referred to us by law enforcement.
111 people were referred by a media source.
At least 5 people found our information in the phonebook–a service we are required to provide under state law.
268 people called on behalf of a friend or family member who was a victim of domestic abuse.
On average, a hotline caller had 2 dependents.
30 people were referred by a local hospital or medical facility.
50% of people had never contacted us before.

Are you in need of our services? Please contact us 24/7 at 479-246-9999 or toll-free at 1-800-775-9011.

Interested in volunteering and helping us answer these important calls? Email our Volunteer Coordinator, Sheri, at shammond@nwaws.org.

[1] Black, M.C., Basile, K.C., Breiding, M.J., Smith, S.G., Walters, M.L., Merrick, M.T., Chen, J., & Stevens, M. (2011). The National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey: 2010 Summary Report. National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Retrieved from: http://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/pdf/nisvs_report2010-a.pdf

Unraveling the Knot: Exploring the Intersection of Domestic Violence and Mental Health