The NFL has been backed into a corner and Roger Goodell has had to face serious questions regarding whether or not he will keep his job. This is for good reason. The NFL has not taken domestic violence issues seriously, and it came back to bite them when Ray Rice’s violent assault on his now wife was put out by TMZ. Amazingly, the assault, subsequent pressure on the NFL and Janay Palmer Rice’s defense of her husband has put in motion an important conversation over domestic violence in America.
The discussions and news that came out of the Ray Rice domestic assault have already resulted in an increased amount of people contacting domestic violence hotlines. The National Domestic Violence Hotline saw an 84 percent increase in calls to the hotline in the days following Ray Rice’s video being published by TMZ. Additionally, many believe the video and conversation afterwards is the reason Cardinal running back Jonathan Dwyer’s wife came forward. She had been head butted by him after she refused to have sex and was also punched in the face the next day.
The conversation on Twitter was especially active with a discussion using the hashtag #WhyIStayed and #WhyILeft. Women and men shared stories of why they rationalized the domestic abuse as well as what finally resulted in them leaving the relationship. The stories ranged from individuals who had been convinced by their abuser that no one would believe them, to others who had never been physically assaulted so they did not believe emotional and other forms of manipulation were really domestic violence.
The statistics on domestic violence in the United States continue to be disgustingly unacceptable. Around three in 10 women and one in 10 men report they have experienced rape, physical violence and/or stalking by a partner and report a related impact on their functioning. Additionally, around one in four women and one in seven men aged 18 and older in the United States have been the victim of severe physical violence by an intimate partner in their lifetime. In total, intimate partner violence alone affects more than 12 million people each year.
The menace of domestic violence is important to keep in mind as we move towards October, which is Domestic Violence Awareness Month. For those in Tuscaloosa who are experiencing domestic violence or know individuals in a domestic violence relationship, national resources such as the National Domestic Violence Hotline as well as campus resources such as the Women’s Resource Center and West Alabama’s domestic violence shelter Turning Point are available to help.
Matthew Bailey is a third-year law student. His column runs biweekly.
