Posted by Carl Gerhardt on Nov 06, 2018
On 11/06/2018, Norma Lopez, the Outreach Education Coordinator for the Montgomery County Women's Center (MCWC), spoke to the membership of the Magnolia Rotary Club about physical, mental, and spiritual abuse within Montgomery County. Pictured above is Norma Lopez.
 
 
After giving the group a little of her personal history, Norma Lopez displayed a list of 10 true or false statements and asked the group whether or not they felt the statements were true or false. After going through the entire list with the group, Norma then provided the actual answers to the statements. The 10 statements were as follows:
 
  1. It is not against the law to slap your own spouse. T or F?
  2. "Battering" means beating someone to the point of bleeding or broken bones. T or F?
  3. Alcohol and drug abuse cause family violence. T or F?
  4. Battering is passed from generation to generation. T or F?
  5. Men being injured by women is just as big a problem as women being injured by men. T or F?
  6. Rarely are victims of family violence seriously injured. T or F?
  7. If a battered women were to leave her abuser, she would be safe. T or F?
  8. The police can't do much about family violence. T or F?
  9. Arresting batterers and putting them in jail will end family violence. T or F?
  10. Violence in someone else's family is not my business. T or F?
The answers provided were:
 
  1. False - A slap is a form of assault. Texas law specifies that assault of another person, including one's spouse is illegal.
  2. False - Battering (which is the same as assault) means causing or threatening bodily injury. Under Texas law, that includes causing pain or offensive contact. Visible injury does not have to occur.
  3. False - Many people who are violent toward family members never drink or use drugs. Others drink or use drugs but never batter. So we cannot say that alcohol or drugs cause family violence.
  4. True - Children learn from their experiences - including violence. In one study of men court mandated to attend battering intervention, 33% reported seeing their mother abused by their father.
  5. False - Though it is true that both men and women are the victims of domestic violence, women are the victims in 85% of domestic violence cases.
  6. False - In 2008, 39% of women murdered in Texas were killed by a current or former intimate partner. Also, up to 30% of women seen in emergency rooms are there due to family violence.
  7. False - Threats, harassment, and assaults often escalate just after a battered women leaves her abuser. This can be the most dangerous time in the relationship.
  8. False - Texas law permits immediate arrest for suspected family violence and many police departments now make such arrests.
  9. False - Arrest and jail time alone are not usually enough to make a batterer permanently stop being violent. Battering Intervention and Prevention Programs are essential.
  10. False - 73% of all Texans believe that domestic violence is a serious problem in Texas. Because your daughter, sister, or neighbor could be next, it makes it your business.
Norma then explained that many abuse cases are not known about for awhile because abusers try to make the abused person believe everything is their fault.
 
Norma than stated that the Montgomery County Women’s Center has been committed for many years to providing a 24-hour hotline, safe shelter, crisis intervention, counseling, advocacy and legal services to survivors of family violence, sexual assault and stalking.  When asked about the number of staff that the MCWC has, it was apparent that they could use more volunteers. Norma suggested that if anyone wanted to volunteer
 to please contact her or go to their website.
 
For more information, go to https://mcwctx.org/.
 
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