not just lower class people
said Amanda Childress, assistant director of Ohio University Health Promotion.
Based on crime statistics from 2001 through 2005, women ages 20-24 are at greatest risk of nonfatal domestic violence, according to the Bureau of Justice. And one in three teens reported knowing one of their friends had been in an abusive relationship, Childress said.
With the recent allegations of abuse between R&B singer Rihanna and hip-hop artist Chris Brown, people may be putting a famous face on abuse, but abusive relationships occur frequently and are often unreported.
Domestic and dating abuse happens at all class levels not just lower class people said Amanda Childress, assistant director of Ohio University Health Promotion.
Based on crime statistics from 2001 through 2005, women ages 20-24 are at greatest risk of nonfatal domestic violence, according to the Bureau of Justice. And one in three teens reported knowing one of their friends had been in an abusive relationship, Childress said.
With the recent allegations of abuse between R&B singer Rihanna and hip-hop artist Chris Brown, people may be putting a famous face on abuse, but abusive relationships occur frequently and are often unreported.
Domestic and dating abuse happens at all class levels
not just lower class people
said Amanda Childress, assistant director of Ohio University Health Promotion.
Based on crime statistics from 2001 through 2005, women ages 20-24 are at greatest risk of nonfatal domestic violence, according to the Bureau of Justice. And one in three teens reported knowing one of their friends had been in an abusive relationship, Childress said.
But for many people, the line between a healthy and abusive relationship can be blurred, making it difficult to tell if a relationship is harmful and even more difficult to decide to report it.
Abuse can be physical and emotional. Verbal abuse is hard to detect because a person may believe they are joking, but if taunting occurs more than once, that person can be inflicting emotional pain, Childress said.
If there is no trust in the relationship or if one person is dominant compared to the other
I think it would be considered abusive
said Andre Rall, a graduate student studying interpersonal telecommunication systems.
Healthy relationships include a feeling of comfort between the couple, communication, respect, commitment and most important, trust, Childress said.
I think a healthy relationship includes good communication and each person is able to express their feelings without violence
said Blake Gilliam, a junior studying psychology and African American studies.
Even though a Hollywood couple being in the public eye brings awareness to abusive relationships, some experts believe this can be positive and negative.
Rihanna coming forward sets a good example for other women
but fans of Chris Brown are judging his character as a result instead of his actions
Childress said.
In the end, Rihanna has accumulated more fans through sympathy and Chris Brown lost fans by his action, said Melissa Mock, a sophomore studying health service administration and family studies.
The perpetrator is not a bad person
