Women are persistently at a high risk for domestic and intimate partner violence due to such factors as a male predatory behavior, twisted power and control dynamics, pervasive rape culture, revictimization by systems, and more. The YWCA reports that domestic violence is the leading cause of injury for women ages 15-44. However, for as many…

For many people, Valentine’s Day is a time to celebrate romantic love. Partners might express gratitude for their special person. Couples might reminisce about how they met and fell in love. But for those whose partners yell at them, diminish them, or hurt them physically, Valentine’s Day can be a painful reminder that their relationship…

In May 2020, Genesis wrote a blog pertaining to intersectionality. Genesis has, from the very beginning, fought for the rights of all domestic violence victims regardless of race, culture, sexual orientation or economic status. Our position is that domestic violence does not discriminate. Today, I’m going to take this a step further and dive more…

What is Trauma? We are surrounded by trauma narratives everyday through social media, news, and even through family and friends. The National Council for Behavioral Health states that “70% of adults in the U.S. have experienced some type of traumatic event at least once in their lives.” This is a high number, but you may…

Here at Genesis, we talk a lot about coping skills during counseling. What are coping skills and why are they so important? Coping skills are activities or actions that a person can take to manage overwhelming emotions. We all do things to help us cope with our feelings throughout any given day, even if you’re…

Being in an abusive relationship can be confusing and scary. Most abusive relationships begin the same way as any other relationship – strong feelings of love and attraction and experiences that are fun and exciting. Over time, the abusive partner may begin to have behaviors that feel “off” to the other partner. Maybe he* begins…

I recently took a self-defense class. A friend invited me, knowing how I am a sucker for anything “female empowerment” based. I had some apprehensions about the course, recognizing why we do not tie self-defense classes with domestic violence work, but I tried to go in with an open mind. I learned some things about…

Domestic violence can take a number of forms, but there’s one thing that 99% of domestic  violence cases have in common: An element of financial abuse. If you haven’t been in full control of your finances and are worried about being trapped by debt even after you’ve distanced yourself from an abuser, know that filing…

I love the holidays. I love Thanksgiving. I love Christmas. I am one of those people who could listen to Christmas music any time of the year, and I watch Hallmark Christmas movies starting in October. I have also experienced some challenges at Christmas, times when I did not know how I would buy Christmas…

Joyful gatherings, restful holidays and a peaceful time spent with family… unfortunately, this is frequently not the case for our clients involved in or healing from an abusive relationship with an intimate partner. Often, the abusive partner controls the merriment of the holiday season through varied forms of abuse. An abuser may have completely controlled…