Anonymous For a while now, I have been supporting a friend whose sibling was in an abusive relationship. My friend, so near and dear to my heart, was struggling both in supporting her sister, as well as being around her abusive partner. The partner’s controlling behavior was concerning to say the least- monitoring texts, phone calls, and Facebook, instigating fights with her family members and then…
The commonly held definition of abuse, which we use in all of our trainings, is “a pattern of behavior used by one person to gain and maintain power and control over another.” One thing to note about that definition is that we are talking about a pattern of behavior, in other words, not just one incident. These behaviors can take on a number of different forms….
April is recognized sexual assault awareness month (SAAM). Some of you may be wondering- what does sexual assault awareness have to do with our work at REACH?
A few weeks ago, a heartbreaking video made the rounds on social media, showing a Florida judge scolding and ultimately sentencing a domestic violence survivor to three days in jail for refusing to appear in court to testify against her abuser. While this story is an extreme example of the reaction they face, it’s not uncommon for survivors to have ambivalence about participating in the criminal…
This October, for Domestic Violence Awareness Month, our emphasis has been about inspiring conversation about domestic violence and healthy relationships in our communities, including faith communities. This blog post originally appeared as a guest blog post for the Boston Faith and Justice Network.
I love my job. I make decent money and am slowly saving up to be able to afford an apartment on my own. I’m good at what I do and I feel a sense of accomplishment when I do it well. My coworkers are my friends and they have been so supportive of me through everything I’ve been through. There’s just one problem: my abusive ex-boyfriend…
Last week, the National Network to End Domestic Violence (NNEDV) published the results of their annual “Domestic Violence Counts” survey. This study, conducted every fall, provides a one-day snapshot of the demand for services from domestic violence programs across the country and in each state. Several things stood out from the data collected in Massachusetts.
In the past few weeks, I have had the opportunity to talk to more Baltimore Ravens fans than I ever knew existed. Some of them were reaching out to offer support, others because they needed to talk. When someone we admire and care about, even from afar, commits an act of violence towards their partner it challenges us. It brings up a lot of uncomfortable feelings…
Have you ever wondered how the experiences you had as a baby shaped your personality as an adult? Can the patterns we form in relationships with our family be traced back to our angst-filled teen years, or did they start even earlier than that? The latest research tells us that experiences that occur even at that young age can permanently alter the structure and chemistry of…
The following column was written by Middlesex County Sheriff Peter J. Koutoujian and our Executive Director Laura Van Zandt: Fourteen years ago this month, an explosion rocked an Everett apartment killing a woman and changing forever the way we look at the issue of stalking in Massachusetts. In 2000, Sandra Berfield – a resident of Everett who worked as a waitress in Medford – was murdered…
