"I Just Work Here" presents: Things Left Unsaid

Darren may be a lot of things, but he's not an idiot.

One of the toughest things about domestic violence is, well, talking about it. This is hard for several reasons: Society's perception that what happens between couples is private, people's uncertainty in how to bring up the subject, but most of all the victim's general reluctance to admit to the abuse. It's not that they don't WANT help, per say, but they're often confused and ashamed of what happened.

DID YOU KNOW...?

--On average, 24 people per minute are victims of rape, physical violence or stalking by an intimate partner in the United States — more than 12 million women and men over the course of a year according to the US Center for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC).

--Nearly 3 in 10 women (29%) and 1 in 10 men (10%) in the US have experienced rape, physical violence and/or stalking by a partner and report a related impact on their functioning.

--1 in 4 women (24.3%) and 1 in 7 men (13.8%) aged 18 and older in the United States have been the victim of severe physical violence by an intimate partner in their lifetime.

HAVE YOU OR SOMEONE YOU KNOW BEEN A VICTIM OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE OR ABUSE? Call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233. There are plenty of people and organizations willing to help, and no shame in reaching out to them for it.

For more statistics and facts visit The National Domestic Violence Hotline webpage and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention page on domestic violence.