How to Pray for Victims of Domestic Abuse
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spiritdoc1Prayers: 40420Requests: 2401
July 28, 2023 at 3:26 amJehovah-Ezer You are on the side of the oppressed. Draw near to the victims of abuse of any sort, comfort them, and give them courage to come forward. Bless is your Holy and Majestic Name! AMEN🙏🏻❤️🕊
cassandra3129Prayers: 133Requests: 8
July 28, 2023 at 3:35 amLuke 4:18 The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised.
Heavenly Father, I thank You that Jesus came and heals, delivers, and gives freedom and recovery to those who are bruised. I thank You that victims of domestic abuse will be victorious in You, Jesus Christ. In Jesus Name, I pray Amen.spiritdoc1Prayers: 40420Requests: 2401
July 28, 2023 at 3:52 amShe sat across from me in the lobby of a cheap motel, looking worn and sad. A police officer had referred her to me for help. She’d fled her house upon learning that her abusive ex had ordered a hit on her from prison, and someone had just tried breaking into the house.
spiritdoc1Prayers: 40420Requests: 2401
July 28, 2023 at 3:53 amOnly a year before, when that abuser was still her husband, he had held her hostage with a knife to her throat. This was the culmination of years of abuse.
spiritdoc1Prayers: 40420Requests: 2401
July 28, 2023 at 3:54 amShe managed to escape, bleeding, before a SWAT team penetrated the barricaded house and arrested the man.
spiritdoc1Prayers: 40420Requests: 2401
July 28, 2023 at 3:54 amSomehow, they failed to notify me even though I was a chaplain and the nearest certified victim advocate.
spiritdoc1Prayers: 40420Requests: 2401
July 28, 2023 at 3:55 am“I did not know how to be a victim,” she said. She received little to no help and did not know where to turn to receive any permanent protection.
spiritdoc1Prayers: 40420Requests: 2401
July 28, 2023 at 3:56 amI connected her with a domestic-violence shelter and professionals who could help her through the Georgia legal system.
spiritdoc1Prayers: 40420Requests: 2401
July 28, 2023 at 3:57 amHer story is one of many, and domestic abuse appears to be on the rise. Headline stories about the horrendous abuse of children by their parents appear almost every week.
spiritdoc1Prayers: 40420Requests: 2401
July 28, 2023 at 3:58 amAccording to the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, nearly 20 people per minute experience domestic abuse in the United States, amounting to about 10 million women and men annually. One in four women and one in nine men have experienced some form of domestic abuse.
spiritdoc1Prayers: 40420Requests: 2401
July 28, 2023 at 3:59 amAdding to the complexity of the issue is the reality of immigrants from cultures where domestic abuse is even more rampant. My position was created because an immigrant had sued our city after being arrested for beating his wife.
spiritdoc1Prayers: 40420Requests: 2401
July 28, 2023 at 4:00 amThat’s normal in my culture, so I should have the right to beat my wife.” Most states have a statute of limitations on how long a victim can file a report after the abuse has occurred.
spiritdoc1Prayers: 40420Requests: 2401
July 28, 2023 at 4:00 amSome have recently extended it, but in most cases, it ranges between two and six years, depending on the severity of the abuse and whether the victim is a child or an adult.
spiritdoc1Prayers: 40420Requests: 2401
July 28, 2023 at 4:01 amEven though a statute of limitations must legally be in place to avoid abuse of the system, or flimsy cases built on memories of something that has occurred long ago, this poses a problem for abuse victims.
spiritdoc1Prayers: 40420Requests: 2401
July 28, 2023 at 4:02 amIn many cases, physical abuse is only the tip of the iceberg, because it is often preceded by a long period of emotional and psychological abuse through which the victim is made to believe the abuse is his or her own fault.
spiritdoc1Prayers: 40420Requests: 2401
July 28, 2023 at 4:03 amOn top of that, abusers will threaten their victims with more abuse and even death if they report anything to law enforcement. Many victims will even cover for their abusers and lie about their injuries.
spiritdoc1Prayers: 40420Requests: 2401
July 28, 2023 at 4:03 amVictim-advocacy professionals point to cycles of abuse. A relationship can deteriorate to the point of becoming abusive. First, there is emotional abuse, then psychological abuse followed by threats, and ultimately physical violence.
spiritdoc1Prayers: 40420Requests: 2401
July 28, 2023 at 4:04 amStrangely enough, that is often followed by a “honeymoon period,” during which the abuser becomes very apologetic and perhaps lavishes gifts on the victim, promising never to do it again.
spiritdoc1Prayers: 40420Requests: 2401
July 28, 2023 at 4:05 amFor a while, things stay calm until a new trigger point occurs, and the cycle begins afresh. Many victims believe their abusers when they say they don’t mean it or that it’s the victim’s own fault.
spiritdoc1Prayers: 40420Requests: 2401
July 28, 2023 at 4:06 amAs a result, they become trapped in a fear-based relationship that only gets broken when law enforcement or concerned family and friends intervene, bringing about physical separation. Sometimes that separation involves the perpetrator’s arrest and a provision for the victim of advice on ways to file for protective orders.
spiritdoc1Prayers: 40420Requests: 2401
July 28, 2023 at 4:07 amAt other times, the victims leave the abuser of their own free will and seek shelter elsewhere. Substance abuse is often involved, and the perpetrator’s addiction is the excuse for the abuse, even in the victim’s eyes.
spiritdoc1Prayers: 40420Requests: 2401
July 28, 2023 at 4:08 amThe law has been slow to catch up with victim needs. Victim advocacy services attached to district attorney offices or law-enforcement agencies are relatively new, beginning with the Family Violence Preventions and Services Act of 1984.
spiritdoc1Prayers: 40420Requests: 2401
July 28, 2023 at 4:08 amImplementation varies widely by state and even by county, and resources for victims remain relatively scarce. Often, victims don’t even know they exist, as was the case with the abuse victim I interviewed in that motel lobby.
spiritdoc1Prayers: 40420Requests: 2401
July 28, 2023 at 4:11 amCriminal laws still have a long way to go in ensuring that cycles of abuse are broken. They are strictest in the case of child abuse. But abuse between partners is typically only lightly punished, unless it reaches a felony level, which means that severe bodily injury has occurred. Perpetrators of misdemeanor levels of domestic violence such as pushing, shoving, slapping, and choking with visible minor injuries are often sentenced to domestic-violence prevention classes on first offense, in lieu of which the conviction gets expunged from the record. The classes are often a formality and do little to prevent future abuse.
spiritdoc1Prayers: 40420Requests: 2401
July 28, 2023 at 4:12 amLaw enforcement considers no one the victim of a crime unless the arrest of a perpetrator has occurred. For such an arrest to take place, there must first be cause — such as third-party eyewitness accounts, or visible injuries. Only then will a victim receive a referral to any victim’s assistance programs — if any are even available.
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