Domestic Violence Taking Center Stage After Rhianna Incident
Kristina Dillon
Issue date: 3/24/09 Section: News
"This type of abuse can be verbal or non-verbal so a majority of the time the victim doesn't even know he/she is being abused," Waldbaum told the Impact.
Emotional abuse is aimed to lower your self esteem, make you feel less worthy or independent. It can include yelling, name-calling, blaming, glares and body language, among many other things, explained Waldbaum.
Isolation, intimidation, and controlling behavior also fall under this category.
This is the type of abuse that 20 year-old liberal arts major Catlin Anderson, a Mercy College student, endured for years.
"He never actually hit me, so I didn't think I was being abused," said Anderson.
According to Waldbaum, this is the most common excuse for this type of abuse.
"It was a typical Friday night, and I wanted to go to the movies with some of my girlfriends. He would roll his eyes, turn his back to me, and say whatever or mumble something under his breath," said Anderson
She then went on to explain how he would tell her to go straight home from the movie, not to linger. He would also call her numerous times when she was out and expect her to pick up the phone even when she was in a middle of a movie.
"If I didn't pick up he called again and again, leaving angry messages each time," said Anderson. "It came to a point where I stopped going out with my friends just so I didn't have to deal with all of the stress that came along with it."
It took three years but eventually Anderson left her abuser.
"It was so hard for me to do, especially with no support team. My friends and family had no idea what was going on." said Anderson. "That's why when I heard that Rhianna was going back to Chris, I got so angry."
Most people have had the same reaction as Anderson, and some have said that Rhianna deserves everything she gets now that she has chosen to go back.
Even Oprah Winfrey has chimed in on the incident, as she dedicated her show on Thursday to the couple. When many of her guests were criticizing Rhianna for deciding to go back to Brown, Winfrey voiced her opinion.
Emotional abuse is aimed to lower your self esteem, make you feel less worthy or independent. It can include yelling, name-calling, blaming, glares and body language, among many other things, explained Waldbaum.
Isolation, intimidation, and controlling behavior also fall under this category.
This is the type of abuse that 20 year-old liberal arts major Catlin Anderson, a Mercy College student, endured for years.
"He never actually hit me, so I didn't think I was being abused," said Anderson.
According to Waldbaum, this is the most common excuse for this type of abuse.
"It was a typical Friday night, and I wanted to go to the movies with some of my girlfriends. He would roll his eyes, turn his back to me, and say whatever or mumble something under his breath," said Anderson
She then went on to explain how he would tell her to go straight home from the movie, not to linger. He would also call her numerous times when she was out and expect her to pick up the phone even when she was in a middle of a movie.
"If I didn't pick up he called again and again, leaving angry messages each time," said Anderson. "It came to a point where I stopped going out with my friends just so I didn't have to deal with all of the stress that came along with it."
It took three years but eventually Anderson left her abuser.
"It was so hard for me to do, especially with no support team. My friends and family had no idea what was going on." said Anderson. "That's why when I heard that Rhianna was going back to Chris, I got so angry."
Most people have had the same reaction as Anderson, and some have said that Rhianna deserves everything she gets now that she has chosen to go back.
Even Oprah Winfrey has chimed in on the incident, as she dedicated her show on Thursday to the couple. When many of her guests were criticizing Rhianna for deciding to go back to Brown, Winfrey voiced her opinion.
Viewing Comments 1 - 1 of 1
Jon
posted 8/25/09 @ 10:12 PM EST
I want to know why Rhianna was not also charged with Domestic Violence. I realize that Chris did injur her and should face a harsher sentence for the battery, but she did hit him also, even if she did not leave a mark. (Continued…)
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