Cheris Hodges's Blog, page 17

Domestic violence is not a joke. . .can't tell on social media, though

As the Ray Rice story turns, some asshats people on social media have turned domestic violence into a joke.

Here's what the unfunny comic Gary Owens said:

Gary Owen about an hour ago

A man should never spit on a woman. Same for you ladies unless you giving that sloppy toppy then spit away.

Here's a meme making the rounds:


And on Twitter, frozen pizza maker DiGiorno  used the hashtag #WhyIStayed, which women were using to tell their story about abusive relationships to promote their product.

This is unacceptable and not funny. Domestic violence kills 4,000 women a year. 4,000. That is not a joke.

Domestic violence is a pattern of assaultive and coercive behaviors, including physical, sexual, and psychological attacks, as well as economic coercion, that adults or adolescents use against their intimate partner. DOMESTIC VIOLENCE IS:  A pattern of behaviors including a variety of tactics - some physically injurious and some not, some criminal and some not - carried out in multiple, sometimes daily episodes.  A pattern of assaultive and coercive behaviors, including physical, sexual, and psychological attacks, as well as economic coercion. A combination of physical force and terror used by the perpetrator that causes physical and psychological harm to the victim and children.  A pattern of purposeful behavior, directed at achieving compliance from or control over the victim. Behaviors perpetrated by adults or adolescents against their intimate partner in current or former dating, married or cohabiting relationships of heterosexuals, gays and lesbians. Prepared by Anne L. Ganley, Ph.D. for the Family Violence Prevention Fund

 Are you still laughing?

One out of every three women will be abused at some point in her life.Battering is the single major cause of injury to women, exceeding rapes, muggings and auto accidents combined.A woman is more likely to be killed by a male partner (or former partner) than any other person.About 4,000 women die each year due to domestic violence.Of the total domestic violence homicides, about 75% of the victims were killed as they attempted to leave the relationship or after the relationship had ended.Seventy-three percent of male abusers were abused as children.Thirty percent of Americans say they know a woman who has been physically abused by her husband in the past year.Women of all races are equally vulnerable to violence by an intimate partner.On average, more than three women are murdered by their husbands or partners in this country every day.Intimate partner violence a crime that largely affects women. In 1999, women accounted for 85% of the victims of intimate partner violence.On average, a woman will leave an abusive relationship seven times before she leaves for good.Approximately 75% of women who are killed by their batterers are murdered when they attempt to leave or after they have left an abusive relationship.

Keep laughing, but I hope you're praying that the women in your life won't be the one out of three women who gets assaulted by a man who is supposed to love her.

Ray Rice and victim blaming

Today the whole picture of former Baltimore Ravens running back, Ray Rice's, assault on his then fiancee surface.

It started with spit. According to a video released by TMZ, Rice is shown standing outside of the elevator, looking down at his phone and when his fiancee walks by, he spits on her. Once inside the elevator, Rice --who is five-eight, 218 pounds, is shown punching his fiancee as if she was Floyd Mayweather.

She is not. I haven't said her name because from comments on social media, this woman is getting dragged through the mud because she did marry Rice after the assault. It seems as if we're assuming this was the first time he did this.

We're forgetting that Domestic Violence is a cycle. Not just physical abuse but mental as well. We don't know what Ray Rice said to his fiancee during their courtship. We don't know her self esteem issues. We just know that she stayed. And some people think it's her fault that this man decided to hit her.

We know that when the first video surfaced, Rice was given a two game suspension. He and his wife held a press conference at the Ravens's facility and she allowed herself to be blamed.
The Ravens even posted the full press conference on their web site.
Today, they voided his contract and the NFL suspended him indefinitely.

That's not good enough. That's a day late and a dollar short. No shade to TMZ.com, but if they could get the whole video, you mean to tell me the NFL offices could not?
You mean to tell me a league that shut down a TV show on ESPN couldn't go to Jersey and get the full security video? I call bull, blue bull shit on this.

And as a fellow writer on Facebook so eloquently said:
JE Jones20 minutes ago near Baton Rouge, LA · Edited It's bad when just the thought of an openly gay player makes the NFL squirm more than just HEARING one of its player punched his wife in the face.
We live in a society where violence against dogs is taken more seriously than violence against women. Michael Vick went to prison — as he should have — for dog fighting. Ray Rice? Nothing. If he did go to jail, he was ROR'ed. But folks in the NFL were all sixes and sevens about an openly gay player. 
Today, after the video surfaced again, you had a few people tweeting their disgust. But where was the disgust when the first video came out? At the end of the day, you have a professional athlete punching the hell out of a woman. Nobody cared until not caring was no longer an option. Still, a day late and several dollars too short. 

The Baltimore Ravens have terminated the contract of running back Ray Rice, the team announced Monday, the same day a shocking video surfaced showing the NFL star punching his then-fiancee in February.The news release from the NFL team was terse."The Baltimore Ravens terminated the contract of RB Ray Rice this afternoon," it read.Shortly after the team's announcement, the league said the three-time all-Pro was suspended indefinitely.NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, who had originally given Rice a two-game ban, increased the suspension after viewing the new video for the first time, NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said on Twitter.

Guest Blog Post: Deatri King-Bey talks For Keeps

For Keeps by Deatri King-Bey
In my new romantic suspense, For Keeps, Gina Guy’s daughter has witnessed a murder and the murderer is after the little girl. Child Protective Services is manipulated into the picture, and Jarvis Martin, a manager within the agency, steps in to protect the Guys’ rights. From the moment Gina meets Jarvis, she feels she can depend on him, but life has proven to her that the only person she can count on is Gina. Will they be able to stop the murderer? Can Jarvis earn her trust and love?
Heavy topic for a romance, huh? I’m known for taking nonconventional characters and topics and spinning them into a romance. I like to create dialogue. The moment I released the For Keeps blurb, people started asking me where the idea came from. I’ve often said that I have voices in my head that tell me their stories, then I relay those stories to you though my books. Basically, I put my psychosis to work.
Events usually wake those voices in my head and cause them to start speaking to me. The voices from For Keeps came about as the result of two incidents. A few years back, I noticed more reports of children being murdered down here (Arizona) by abusive parents on the news. This was a very noticeable increase. There was actually an event that correlated to the increase in deaths and abuse. I can’t remember the number, but there were like 2,500 reported cases of abuse that were never investigated during that time period. Big time scandal. Lots of people fired over that.
In incident two, I know someone who was reported to CPS by the hospital she delivered her baby in because there were narcotics in the baby’s system. Actually, hospitals must report when babies are born with drugs in their system. That sounds like a good thing, right?
Well, the hospital neglected to inform CPS that the mother had been a patient in the hospital and administered the narcotic by the nurses. The mother didn’t even realize what they were giving her was a narcotic until after CPS contacted her and told them they’d be taking her child from her for him testing positive for narcotics.  This mother went into a panic. She did everything her CPS case manager asked for, but CPS didn’t do their part. Then the case manager’s boss came into the picture and took steps to take this child away from the mother. It got really ugly.
To make a long story short, the original case manager came back into the picture and stopped the insanity. Had it not been for that case manager, this woman’s child would have been taken from her even though the hospital had supplied the paper work requested by CPS. Sounds crazy, huh? Yeah, I couldn’t believe what was happening as it unfolded.
These incidents breathed life into Gina and Jarvis. There are good parents caught up in the system every day. There are bad parents that children need to be protected from. There are bad case managers and there are good case managers.
I don’t know, this seemed like the perfect backdrop for a romantic suspense. Next thing you know, Gina and Jarvis telling me their story. I hope you enjoy For Keeps.
Here’s a little sample:
He squinted at the seven-story condominium complex. She thinks by moving into a secured building she can protect you from me. His gaze traveled along the building and settled on the third floor, second unit from the right. Humph, there’s more than one way to skin a cat. Brenda ran out of the building. Quickly, he ducked behind a tree. Reveling in a surge of satisfaction, he returned his focus to the third story window. Soon all of my worries will be over. Whistling a happy tune, he walked away.* * *The superintendent flipped through his keys, unwilling to select the correct one. “I assure you, she didn’t leave her child. I would know. There must be a mistake. Miss Guy is one of my best tenants. Someone made a prank call.”Arms folded over her ample chest, Mrs. Clark tapped her foot and waited beside the police officer. “I hope you’re correct, but someone reported a baby being left alone for hours, so we must investigate.”“Benda!” he heard the voice of a little girl on the opposite side of the door cry. It sounded like Tiara, Miss Guy’s daughter. “Where you at? I ascared.”“Hurry.” Mrs. Clark pressed herself against the door. “Don’t worry, honey. Someone's here.”  The superintendent’s fat, fumbly fingers worked the keys double-time to unlock the door. Something wasn’t right. Miss Guy wouldn’t leave Tiara alone. Maybe Miss Guy had fainted or was injured. He opened the door. Mrs. Clark rushed into the apartment toward the screaming toddler and tumbled over the edge of the coffee table. Tiara stopped screaming, spun around and ran into a bedroom. The officer helped the social worker stand. “Are you hurt?” Mrs. Clark rubbed her shin. “It smarts, but I’ll be fine. Thank you.” She limped into the bedroom with the others following close behind. Tiara was nowhere in sight.“Come out, honey,” said the social worker.  Silence. She pointed at the twin-sized princess canopy bed. The officer knelt and lifted the comforter to check under the bed. No little girls. The small bedroom only contained one other potential hiding place. The case manager searched through the closet, but still no child.Confused, the superintendent sat on the dresser. It creaked under his weight. “Well, she couldn’t have disappeared.” A faint groan caught his ear. He nodded toward the space between the dresser and the wall. “I think we have mice.”* * *Fear raced through Gina’s veins as she dragged Brenda into the back office for privacy. “What do you mean they took her? Who took her? Calm down and tell me where my baby is.” Shaking her head, Brenda rocked back and forth. “I… I saw the police and panicked. I’m so sorry. Please don’t be mad at me. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to.”She grabbed Brenda by the shoulders and shook. “If you do not tell me where my baby is this instant, I swear I’ll kill you.”* * *Hollering, Tiara darted for the pile of blocks that sat on the middle of the toddler table in Observation Room three. Helen Clark shook her head as she lowered herself to the couch. “Play with the blocks like a good girl.” Jarvis watched the little hellion through the double mirror. Knowing she hadn’t finished yet, he grinned. Her screams when they’d entered the office were what had drawn his attention. This child had a serious set of lungs on her. Now quiet and calm, Tiara carefully sorted through the blocks. Jarvis was rarely wrong where children were concerned, but it looked as if he’d been wrong this time. Tiara had found something more interesting than screaming her head off. Meticulously, she measured the blocks, then selected the largest one and threw it at the case manager. Shocked, he rushed for the door as the block soared through the air and slammed square into Helen’s nose. “Leave me ‘lone you mean o’ crow.”Holding her nose, Helen cursed the child and stormed out as he entered. “I hate you, you mean o’ meanie!”Standing in the doorway, Jarvis remained silent. He’d deal with Helen for cursing in the presence of a child later. Tiara stopped yelling. Her eyes traveled from his shoes, along his legs, torso, then she craned her neck way back to see his face. Over six feet, he knew he was huge to the little girl. Hands shaking, she held up a block.Arms folded over his chest, he raised a brow. “If you throw that at me, I’ll throw it back.”She swallowed hard, then dropped the block, crossed her arms over her chest and raised her brow, impersonating his stance. “My mommy gonna get that mean o’ crow.”“I’m sure she will.” He stifled a grin. “Let’s clean this mess.” She stood still, blinking away the tears, fighting the oncoming cry. “You find my mommy? She doesn’t know where I’m at. She’ll be ascared.” “She’ll be afraid.” He lowered himself to her level and held his hand out. “I’ll find your mommy.” She ran to him, jumped into his arms and hugged him tightly. “I like you.” “I like you, too.” Tired of the neglect, he shook his head. He became a social worker to protect children. To give them the childhood he had in a loving family. All children deserved to be loved. “What’s your name?” He released her. Though he already knew her name, he wanted to continue breaking the ice with her.She stepped away and curtsied. “Tiawa Wose Guy.”“Jarvis Neal Martin at your service.” Heart smiling, he placed his hand on his chest and bowed his head slightly. “You may call me Jarvis.” He settled on the floor beside her and helped pile the blocks on the Big Bird toddler table. “Do you know where I can find your mommy?”Tugging on his arm, she tried to pull him toward the door. “You go get her? She’s at work. With the pancakes.”Lifting Tiara, he stood and placed her on his hip. “How old are you?”“Twee. Go get Mommy. She’s at the pancake place.” She pointed at the door. “She doesn’t know I’m here with you. You go get her. I’ll show you. That mean o’ crow took me. My mommy’s gonna get her.”He walked to the front desk. “Where’s Helen? I need the file on Tiara.”Mary, the office assistant, smiled at Tiara. “This can’t possibly be the little terror who came in kicking and screaming earlier. Oh no. This young lady is much too beautiful.” Tiara hid her face in the crook of Jarvis’s neck and giggled. “She’s in the process of being told off by,” she nodded toward Tiara, “a certain young lady’s mother. Helen may need to be saved. Room six.” Mary took Tiara from Jarvis. Just what he needed, another substandard parent who didn’t give a darn about her child until the authorities were brought in. He stopped his train of thought. Just because the overwhelming majority of cases he’d seen of late had been proven cases of neglect and abuse, didn’t mean this one was also.
Get Your Copy Today: Kindle ($3.99), Nook/ePub ($3.99), Print $5.99
Thank you, for giving me a chance to introduce For Keep. I appreciate it and you.
Deatri King-Bey

No. . .You can not touch my hair!

This deserves a video blog

I've been sheltered.
I've never experienced OVERT racism. Until yesterday.
I've never experienced OVERT sexism. I take that back, I've been dealing with sexism for years. But until I took my day job last summer, I never dealt with it every day. It was just a weekly thing. I used to be a sports writer.

So, tonight I will expound on my feelings. On video.

Please stay tuned.

Thank you!

#WhatIWantOneClickWednesday: Unveiling The One That I Want

The One That I Want! Here we go go! The official unveiling of our next step in our rise to the NYT, with your help of course. Lutishia Lovely Cheris Hodges and moi are excited as we count down the days to October 8. Enjoy our little gift to you and please share! #whatiwantwednesday --Donna Hill
Donna Hill:

Zuri Day: 

Cheris Hodges: 

The Washington Redskins and the hypocrisy of Daniel Snyder

Anyone who follows me on social media knows I am not a fan of the Washington Redskins. It's safe to say, I hate the Redskins. Yes. I'm a Dallas Cowboys fan.

I've also started a one-woman boycott of the NFL due to the lame punishment Ray Rice of the Baltimore Ravens received after his domestic abuse of his then-fiancee, now wife. But I digress.

I've tried to ignore the swirling controversy surrounding the name of the team in DC. Then I saw this story on Time.com

Washington Redskins Defend Name With Help From Native Americans

I didn't read it. I'm not going to read it. But I want to tell you a story about Washington owner Daniel Snyder.

For seven months in 2011, Danny Boy was in a legal battle with the Washington City Paper because of a tongue-in-cheek article written about him. It was called, The Cranky Redskins' Fan Guide to Dan Snyder.

Here are some highlights:

So before we welcome the New Dan Snyder, let’s look back at the one we know. That’s the Dan Snyder who left his mark, or stain, on more than just a football team. That’s the Dan Snyder who got caught forging names as a telemarketer with Snyder Communications, made a great view of the Potomac River for himself by going all Agent Orange on federally protected lands, and lost over $121 million of Bill Gates’ money while selling an “official mattress” while in charge of Six Flags. That’s the Dan Snyder I’ve found to be the most fascinating and consistent man on the planet, responsible for the hilarious and/or heinous deeds outlined in the following pages.

 “A Long Time”: Thirteen weeks, in Snyder-speak. During training camp in 2000, ESPN asked Snyder how long Norv Turner, who had just coached the Redskins to an NFC East title, would be in his employ. “A long time,” Snyder said. He fired Turner with three games left in the season, despite the Redskins’ winning record.

Andyman: Fake name widely believed to be used by top Redskins officials to post anti-media rants on fan message boards. In 2005, Washington City Paper reported that Karl Swanson, Snyder’s longtime PR chief, had registered on sportsjournalists.com, a website where Andyman often sniped at The Washington Post. Andyman, which could be Pig Latin for Danny M (Snyder’s first name, middle initial) all but disappeared after the report. 

The article was accompanied by this illustration:


 Instead of laughing. Dan sued. Sued a paper that was struggling financially. Sued a paper that makes fun of everybody.
Accused the paper of being anti-Semitic.
I'm going to pause.
He. Accused. The. Paper. Of. Being. Anti-Semitic.

The name of the team that you own is a racial slur and you actually had the nerve to sue a paper and say it was being anti-Jewish. *Kanye shrug.*
The suit was dropped, but the City Paper was left holding a big bill. Full disclosure, during this time, I worked for Creative Loafing Charlotte, which was owned by the City Paper's parent company at the time.

City Paper is a small news organization with limited resources, and defending ourselves against this lawsuit has cost massive amounts of time and money, well beyond the $34,308.91 that readers have contributed to our legal defense fund. Despite those costs, we are proud that we never wavered or allowed ourselves to be bullied, ultimately leading Snyder to dismiss his case. Though the District’s anti-SLAPP law says courts “may” have awarded us some of our litigation costs had we pursued them, we concluded that it wasn’t worth spending substantially more money, energy, and attention for what would have only been a chance of recovering a portion of what we've spent.
Today, we got what we wanted all along: dismissal of a case expressly designed to pressure us, and filed by a man who now apparently says he never even read the story in the first place. Now we're eager to get back to our business of covering the city's politics and culture—including its sports culture—without this distraction. And we hope the end of this case means Snyder can get back to focusing his energy on making our shared home team as good as it can be.

Now, back to the issue at hand. Black folks are constantly called out for using the "race card." But we're just going to give Dan a pass?
What does Redskin really mean? Writer Baxter Holmes breaks it down in an Esquire blog.

"A 'REDSKIN' IS THE SCALPED HEAD OF A NATIVE AMERICAN, SOLD, LIKE A PELT, FOR CASH"That's not racist at all for a team in the National Football League to keep this name. And it's not at all hypocritical for Snyder to use the Jew Card because someone drew on his picture, while saying in another breath that

Heat up the holidays with these sexy stories

Hot Christmas Nights and The One That I Want kick off the holiday reading season from powerhouse romance publishers Kimani and Dafina Books.



The One That I Want features Essence Bestselling author Donna Hill, Zuri Day and Cheris Hodges. Publisher's Weekly has already voted this book as one of the top ten romances for the fall season.


A PROMISE FOR THE HOLIDAY by Donna HillDevastated by her divorce, Cara Holiday vowed never to be vulnerable again. Now she’s a wildly successful real estate broker, and wildly lonely. Restaurateur Mitch Davis has had his eye on her, but can’t break the ice—until he cooks up a scheme to hire her. Soon Cara is enjoying his company—and secretly drawing out the process of selling his house. When their deceptions collide, will their blossoming relationship make it to the holidays?A SEXY CHRISTMAS CAROL by Zuri DayAfter years of travel working for a pop diva, Carol Robbins has moved back to Detroit in time for the holidays. She’s bought a home and bonded with her family. As for romance, she’s got no prospects—until she attends a VIP party and makes a surprising love connection. Soon she’s torn between her old “big life,” her hopes for the future—and one man who may give her the greatest gift of all…
CHRISTMAS SURPRISE by Cheris HodgesTired of coming second to her wealthy husband’s career, Lola Yvonne Joseph is sending him a very special gift this year: divorce papers. Then she’s leaving Miami for the kind of wintery white Christmas she’s always wanted. She definitely does not expect Jonathan to track her down, whisk her away, and do everything possible to win her back. If he succeeds, Lola has one more surprise in store for him…
Kimani Arabesque offers Hot Christmas Nights featuring authors Farrah Rochon, Terra Little and Velvet Carter. For Rochon, writing her Christmas novella was just as fun as spending the holidays with her family."Coming from a large family that gets together every year for the holidays, writing stories set at Christmastime is like going home for me. Ironically, my story in Hot Christmas Nights, Tuscan Nights, takes place far from home, in gorgeous Italy. It was a treat to explore this romantic country and infuse some of its holiday traditions into my story."Tuscan Nights by Farrah RochonIt's not the breathtaking scenery that brings Aiden Williams to Italy for Christmas—it's gorgeous pastry chef Nyla Thompson. Five years ago Aiden's older brother was fool enough to let Nyla go. Now a mature and sexy Aiden is determined to turn their Italian fling into everlasting amore….Vegas Affair by Terra LittleProfessional dancer Wendy Kincaid thinks she knows her best friend, Frazier Abernathy, inside out. But he's got a season of surprises in store for the woman he's always desired, leading to a Las Vegas rendezvous, where he'll raise the stakes in an all-out merry seduction….Tied Up In Tinsel by Velvet CarterEntertainment agent Landis Keates is stunned to learn that his old college classmate is now an international singing sensation! Back then, he was too clueless to notice Brooke Lynn Samuels. Now a friend's winter wedding in picturesque Bridgehampton is the perfect backdrop to a very intimate Yuletide reunion….Arabesque is celebrating 20 years of publishing African American romance and boast introducing readers to authors like Sandra Kitt, Beverly Jenkins and Brenda Jackson. This trio of authors were honored at this past year's Romantic Times convention with the Pioneer Award.

Something is coming . . .Donna, Zuri, Cheris . . .

Summer's almost over, it's never to early to start thinking about Christmas. . .cold nights, hot stories.

Donna Hill:

Zuri Day: 
Cheris Hodges:  Stay Tuned! 

It's more than just keeping your hands to yourself

I recall attending a wedding many years ago and the mother of the bride told the groom: "If you ever feel like you have to hit her, send her home. She's been raised and she doesn't need you to hit her."
At a wedding, why would a mother feel the need to say this to a groom? And let's be clear, that couple didn't have an abusive relationship.

But that mother laid a foundation that day. Years later, that couple raised a son. He's a really good man and has a bright future. He fell in love with a girl and they moved in together. The young couple got into an argument one day in May. She hit him.
He called the police.
She went to jail.

So, I'm always puzzled when people say a man can't walk away or do something other than hit a woman back when she hits him.
And I'm perturbed by the fact that people say women "provoke" domestic violence. And by people I mean ESPN's Steven A. Smith and all the Steven A. apologists running around social media.

I once dated a guy with huge hands. I ended up in the hospital, not because he hit me or did anything of the sort. As a matter of fact, he drove me to the hospital and I believe I told him not to call my family. But he did. When my mama came to check on "her baby," the first thing she asked me was did he ever put his hands on me. It's also one of the first questions the nurse asked me when I was admitted into the hospital two days earlier.
My answer was no. I've never been in an abusive relationship, but when I was a full time journalist, I covered several deaths of women who were killed at the hands of batters. Did they provoke them? Did they have a family asking questions or were they victims of the domestic violence cycle.

See, what the SAS choir is missing is the fact that we need to talk about domestic violence without victim blaming. We need to acknowledge that men are victims. Because the next line that the SAS choir sings on Facebook and Twitter is that a man who reports DV is called a punk. (Insert eye-roll)
Yes, mothers need to teach their daughters not to hit ANYONE —man or woman. And mothers also need to teach their sons not to hit as well.
This men will be men BS is old. It's past time to let that go. Being a man does not equal being violent. Being a man means you can call the police when she hits you.

SAS was suspended and then his choir pulled out the race card because it's assumed that he was suspended because a white woman co-worker took him to task on Twitter.
But as The Washington Post reports, this isn't the first time Smith has blamed women for domestic violence.

Smith, who created a media storm when he questioned the role of women in domestic violence in the aftermath of the NFL’s two-game suspension of Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice, will attempt to speak more clearly on his views Monday. While he’s at it, he might revisit a 2013 Floyd Mayweather Jr. interview unearthed by The Big Lead or his 2012 comments about provocation after Chad Johnson was arrested in a domestic incident with his then-wife, Evelyn Lozada. Johnson was arrested for misdemeanor domestic battery, and Deadspin dug up video (see it here) of Smith’s commentary then.

So, yes, I've called BS on his apology. The third time is not the charm. This shows a pattern, a pattern of victim blaming and shaming.
If this nation is going to have a discussion about domestic violence, then let's stop with the kindergarten mind set of keep you hands to yourself. Some PEOPLE (not just men) are evil. SOME PEOPLE will abuse someone who they feel is weaker. And the response of the SAS choir proves that there will be more Bianca Tanners before we find a real solution to the serious issues of domestic
violence.

The case has received national attention since Tanner, 31, a second-grade teacher from Greensboro, was reported missing by Smith on June 8 in Charlotte. The report came just 10 days after she moved to Charlotte with her 3-year-old son, Jarrod.
The child told investigators Smith had struck Tanner with a belt and “hurt Mommy in the face,” according to a search warrant. —Source: The Charlotte Observer

Read more here: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2014...


Things you should know:
One in 4 women will experience domestic violence during her lifetime.Women experience more than 4 million physical assaults and rapes because of their partners, and men are victims of nearly 3 million physical assaults.Women are more likely to be killed by an intimate partner than menWomen ages 20 to 24 are at greatest risk of becoming victims of domestic violence.Every year, 1 in 3 women who is a victim of homicide is murdered by her current or former partner. — Source: safehorizon.org/page/domestic-violenc...
#1 FACT:
Most domestic violence incidents are never reported.