This morning saw a headline about a woman viciously assaulted in her home, in front of her young child, in our city. The only thing surprising is why this particular attack warranted a headline, social media post, police statement or broadcast on the evening news.
Certainly other women were beaten and hospitalized at the hands of their current or ex-partners yesterday. Just as more will be today and tomorrow. Many children witness the assault of their mothers and are traumatized by violence. It’s horrifying to contemplate.
Outside of first responders and social service agencies which support those experiencing abuse, our collective numbness to violence against women – the lack of sunlight – is part of what allows it to go largely unaddressed. Abuse is a crime which thrives in darkness.
Many victims of family violence do not report to police, disclose their experiences to friends and family members or seek support from one of myriad social agencies at the ready. Their abuse – happening behind closed doors in our neighbourhoods – often don’t register until a woman is murdered, as nine Calgary women were in 2014.
Let this one headline serve as proxy for the tens of thousands which fail to appear about similar crimes perpetrated daily. Let this story of one woman’s devastating Tuesday not be a singular awful standout which outrages you: be outraged for (and with) every woman and child who is unsafe in their home.
