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Understanding your rights as a Battered Woman
Before you finish reading this, a woman has been beaten or raped.

This is a topic that hits very close to home with me and thousand of other woman who live in the United States. Most of us have at one time or another, either been a victim themselves of domestic violence, or know of someone who has been abused, fondled or raped by someone they know. Every day at least four women die as a result of domestic violence in this country alone. FBI statistics say that about 1400 woman a year die by the hand of someone who is supposed to love them. This number is actually greater than the number of soldiers who were killed during the Vietnam War.

It's a conservative estimation that two to four million women a year are beaten and battered by someone who is supposed to love them. 170,000 of these women are beaten so badly that hospitalization is required. This estimation is from the one's who report their assault; this number is believed to be much higher. This does not include the 1.2 million women who are raped every year. More than half of these women were raped by someone they know or who claimed they loved them, often these women are raped repeatedly. Love should never hurt.

When it comes to assaults, women are the weaker sex and this makes us easy targets. We are 10 times more likely than men to be assaulted each year and if you're a women who is divorced, separated, or African American, you have a better chance of being a victim. Poverty level and low-income women are five times more likely to become victims of domestic violence.

Domestic violence affects all of us whether we are close to it or not. Women who are beaten need twice as much healthcare than those who are not. An estimated 17% of women who are beaten are pregnant which leads to miscarriages, stillbirths or low-weight babies being born. Oh, and get this, this will make you sick. Victims of domestic violence are denied health insurance because they are considered to have a pre-existing condition. Isn't that discusting? These insurance companies come up with all kinds of excuses to refuse helping those who need it.

You don't have to live with a person who takes his frustrations out by beating you. There are places to go and people who will help you start over. Yes, it is scary, especially if you have children, but God did not give you life to have it beaten out of you, whether you believe or not. It is not your fault and you are not to blame, no matter what the

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