Look for books, journal articles, magazine and newspaper articles, reliable Internet sources, and community agencies that can give you the following information: * General information on the frequency of domestic violence and abuse in Hawaii * Warning signs and characteristics of various types of abuse * Very specific information regarding where an adult in an abusive relationship can go for help and advice in Hawaii
Based on your research, write a paragraph or two that describes: * frequency of abuse and domestic violence, * the warning signs and characteristics of abusive relationships, * the ways a counselor or community agency can help, * a list of agencies (with addresses and phone numbers), hotlines, and other resources (both local and national) that can help in such situations.
Domestic violence and abusing is a huge problem here in Hawaii including the other States. I have a friend that was in an abusive relationship. I didn’t really understand why she stayed with him for so long. I first started suspecting that she was being abused when I was on the phone with her and I heard him screaming at her in the background. She yelled back and played it off like nothing was wrong. She said usually he was a good guy, but merely had a bad day. I kept asking her why she stayed with him and she always replied that she loved him. Her boyfriend had managed to isolate her from her friends and family and she therefore feels that she has no one to turn to. She completely feels responsible for his behavior and tries to change herself, therefore giving herself a very low self-esteem. It was three weeks later when I haven’t heard from her, so I figured to just stop by their place and see her. Sadly, she refuses to open the door and tells me to leave her alone. Fortunately, I call up my uncle who is a police officer to go check on her. He went over and saw her with all the bruises, so he made the boyfriend packed his stuff, and informed him that if he ever came back there would be more trouble than he could handle. Oddly enough, she still says that she misses him. I can only imagine how much more complicated it would be for her if they have children together.
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There are help lines available for people that have been affected, but the majority of people are not reporting these events to law enforcement, and that could possibly be because they fear for life or some other extenuating circumstance. Not reporting the issue(s) is not going to help society at all. These people need to stand up for their rights, and do something about these issues. The problems are not going to go away, but only grow bigger, if something is not done to resolve them.
We need to meet all kinds of people so that we can find ourselves. Young people need older people just as older people need young people in order to become more themselves and more human. That humanizing process will teach us that there is a child behind the mask of each older face, just as there is already an older person behind the mask of each young face.”
– Leo.