BY DAISY MORALES Spousal abuse, also called domestic abuse or intimate partner abuse, can include physical, psychological, and financial abuse perpetrated by a spousal/domestic/intimate partner against the people they should care for. Spousal abuse often begins with incidents such as screaming, slapping, or pushing that may seem innocuous or a one-time occurrence, but progressively develop into continuous, more threatening abuse. Even when spousal abuse becomes more habitual, abusers will continue to deny their responsibility, opting instead to blame the victim’s behavior. They also may blame their own actions on outside influences, such as alcohol or stress. If abusers do apologize...
Lessons From Norm Therapy™
BY LAUREN JACQUES Kelly Dehn, Cofounder of ARO, has been able to help those in abusive situations because of her own life experience. After reaching what she refers to as the lowest point of her life, suffering abuse after abuse, Dehn was introduced to by Michael Gibson, Cofounder; and eventually began, what is now known as Norm Therapy™. Dehn describes Norm Therapy™ as “a baseline therapy from which the professionals can carry on their mission to help the abused. We will build a baseline of overt clarity for each abused victim. Basically, what we are doing is providing a clear...
Follow Your ARO: Where We Are Vs. Where We Are Going
Follow Your ARO: Where We Are Vs. Where We Are Going BY ALLISON WINTERS Abuse Refuge Organization (ARO) is constantly changing as a non-profit organization. To set goals and benchmarks for growth and progress, ARO uses a strategic phase plan. In the current phase, Phase II, our focus is on awareness and funding. By onboarding new volunteers daily, ARO looks to help spread our message by expanding staff to concentrate that effort. “Hopefully, we will be able to hire enough people that we can really take on all those tasks that we need to actually get the support behind the...
Speaking Up About Child Abuse
Speaking Up About Child Abuse BY RASHMI NEGI According to Childhelp.org, more than 3 million children are abused in the United States every year (Childhelp.org, 2020). It is appalling that one in every three girls and one in every five boys can become the victims of child abuse. Different forms of child abuse can leave long-term scars, both on the outside and the inside. What is Child Abuse? Child abuse and neglect is an act, or failure to act, by a parent or caretaker which presents a severe risk of harm or death, serious physical or emotional harm, sexual abuse,...