Cut the Bruises Short
Pain is one feeling in life that, at one point or another, everyone experiences. Though, it may be different for everyone: losing a loved one, experiencing a heart break. But hat happens when the pain that is felt is not only emotional but also physical? When a loved on that is held very dear is the person that also causes visible scars. This is the type of pain that very few people have empathy concerning. When it comes to domestic abuse, though the percentage of experience is fortunately low for majority of people, the awareness is just as low.In A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini, one of the main character, Mariam, experiences forms of domestic abuse. Though, it is uncommon to hear stories of women - or men even - being forced to eat a fist full of rocks by an enraged spouse, the same way Mariam's husband Rasheed makes her do, stories of the weaker spouse being beat are popular.
According to Safe Horizon, which is an organization that works to provide safety and refuge for abused victims as well as spread awareness among the public, one in every four women will suffer to the hands of domestic abuse, and "women from ages twenty to twenty four are at greater risk of domestic violence." With these numbers, it can be expected to have a larger awareness base amongst the public. However, the fact that each year more marriages are falling to the hands of domestic violence - and even teenagers being involved in abusive relationships - proves that the knowledge of the these tragic occurrences are small. A way that this issue can be solved is to educate teenagers before it becomes too late. Just telling teenagers not to let another beat them is not enough though; that would only make teenagers turn a blind eye. However, if schools took a week out of each year to dedicate to domestic violence awareness, including an event containing willing healed survivors of these brutalities to speak out to the public in a relatable way to educate more people, then the statistics of the amount of people that suffer from domestic abuse would start to decrease.
