We have all seen the video surfacing of the Domestic Violence situation between Diddy and Cassie. The video itself was horrible to watch, but unfortunately, it’s far more common than many think. In October, I wrote an article ‘When A House is not a Home,’ to bring awareness during Domestic Violence Awareness Month. Domestic Violence has no color, no gender, and no age. The groups affected most are Blacks, Hispanics, and women.
In college, I worked in my schools Women’s Center for 3 years. We had a grant to bring Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Awareness to the campus. There were professionals from a local organization who worked alongside us to create programs and create a safe space. We were also connected with the campus police to help victims better report violence. I recall, one time, a young woman came in crying and then she ran out the office. The professional followed her and spoke to her, but I never saw her again and don’t know what came of her situation.
The bigger picture when you witness or hear about these situations is that there is a systemic trauma. For the future of humankind, it must be identified and addressed. As a Black person, our history alone is filled with trauma passed down through generations. Many of it started during the times of the slave trade. This trickled into the post reconstruction era, civil rights era, and then the War of Drugs era. Due to the negative history in healthcare for Black people, many do not seek therapy. But there are many who are hurting. People who have gone through so many things and may have never spoken to a professional to work through their thoughts.
In the video, we clearly see the victim in a situation we wouldn’t want any woman to be in. We see a woman who tries to escape from her aggressor by any means. We see the aggressor who clearly did not care about her wellbeing. He ran down that hallway as if he was chasing someone who hurt him more than the other way around. For far too long , the aggressor in these situations prey on someone who has difficulty standing up for themselves or have no one to stand up for them. For this to be a situation between people of celebrity status, this shows that this problem runs deep. Money and fame doesn’t take away someone’s demons
To end, let’s open up the conversation on how to better protect the little girls and boys of the world. Let’s bring more counselors into the schools. Have more educational programs on these topics to help kids process their thoughts and feel more safe about opening up when in need. We must fight this violence because no one deserves to be in these situations.