MALMSTROM AIR FORCE BASE, Mont. -- With October being Domestic Violence Awareness Month, several base agencies designed a campaign to spark change on how domestic abuse affects communities, families and lives.
Although the month is over, domestic violence awareness continues. The following are tips and tools you can use in the event you find yourself in a domestic violence situation.
Domestic violence is defined as violence or other abuse by one person against another in a domestic setting, such as a marriage or cohabitation.
It can involve children, parents or elderly and can be termed intimate partner violence when committed by a partner against the other, to include former partners.
Main behaviors qualifying as domestic violence range from:
- Physical injuries
- Shoving, beating or other means to cause damage
- Sexual assault
- Threats
- Using suicide as a threat, to harm a child or family member
- Harassment
- Physical and cyber-stalking
- Emotional abuse
- Playing 'mind games', making you feel irrelevant
- Verbal abuse
- Name calling, yelling, mocking, intimidation
- Constant messaging, monitoring and sharing without consent
- Misusing technology to control your partner
- Other actions resulting in one person fearing or feeling controlled by the other
Technology brings tech abuse
Do your messages feel like threats? Does your partner use technology to always keep tabs? What crosses the line online?
Relationships can go viral. Constant messaging, monitoring and sharing without consent - misusing technology to control or punish your partner is abuse and it's not okay. Set boundaries and know where to find help for addressing your partner's misuse of technology.
Mobilize help for technology abuse. You have options to protect your privacy and set healthy boundaries. Don't dismiss actions that make you uncomfortable because they only happen online and not real-life.
Fix a bad connection. If your partner has a pattern of misusing technology to control, monitor or harass you, make one more call - to the Family Advocacy Program. Get privacy tips, help setting boundaries and support.
Here are some on-base and off-base resources that can provide support:
Domestic Abuse Victim Advocate (DAVA) - (406)731-4344
Family Advocacy Program - (406)731-2161
Military Family Life Consultant (MFLAC) - (406)750-8481
Chaplain - (406)731-3801
YWCA - (406)452-1315
Havenmt.org - (406)994-7069
Voices of Hope/211/Crisis Line - (406)453-4357
National Domestic Violence Hotline - 1-800-799-7233