Domestic Violence: Empowering the Victim

As the friend or a loved one of a person who is experiencing domestic violence, it if often difficult to determine how best to approach the situation. While most of us tend to want to rescue the victim of domestic violence from the complicated situation, this often does not work. When faced with a situation in which a person you care about is experiencing domestic violence, creating a strategy in which you are not perceived as a rescuer may be the key to improving the situation.

Domestic violence impacts not only the victim but those around them. When caring for a loved one who has been subjected to domestic violence, often, finding a way to become an emotional support system, and not a rescuer, is the key to encouraging the victim to make the necessary steps to leave the situation of violence.

Many victims of domestic violence, once removed from the situation, will state they must feel empowered to make the change in their relationship themselves. When third parties, most often their loved ones, intervene on their behalf, the victim of domestic violence will state they often felt more victimized and not empowered to make their own decisions. Therefore, creating an environment in which you provide support, without control, to the domestic violence victim is crucial to encouraging the victim from moving out of the situation.

To provide support to a victim of domestic violence, it is important to first offer a safe relationship, one that is free of criticism and harsh comments. Allow the victim of domestic violence to feel accepted without regard to his or her response to their own victimized situation. Try to avoid being judgmental, critical and avoid giving direction when the victim of domestic violence approaches you about the situation. Instead, simply offer a listening ear and a place of acceptance. In doing so, you will build trust in the relationship and facilitate a realistic ending to the situation