http://www.fmwf.com/media-type/news/2010/02/helena-bonham-carter-launches-valentines-day-domestic-violence-campaign/ Financial Mail Women's Forum Wed, 08 Feb 2012 19:21:20 +0000 hourly 1 http://www.fmwf.com/media-type/news/2010/02/helena-bonham-carter-launches-valentines-day-domestic-violence-campaign/comment-page-1/#comment-404 Annie Kaszina Wed, 10 Feb 2010 16:41:47 +0000 http://www.fmwf.com/?p=13123#comment-404 What a fantastic idea to launch this campaign in time for Valentine's day, which can be an acutely painful time for women who have an abusive partner. As Helena Bonham Carter rightly observes physical violence is only one manifestation of domestic violence. The mental and emotional abuse can be just as damaging. There is woefully little public awareness of the true nature of abuse and a desperate need for education for women of all ages. What happens, in practice, is that women stay in destructive relationships for way too long because they blame themselves for the failure of the relationship. An abusive man uses his partner's hunger for love to control, humiliate and exploit, while an abused woman lacks the information to know that if it feels like her partner hates her,that is probably the bottom line. An abused man may talk about love, albeit in a slightly creepy way, but his behaviour is never that of a loving, supportive partner over any significant length of time. What a fantastic idea to launch this campaign in time for Valentine’s day, which can be an acutely painful time for women who have an abusive partner. As Helena Bonham Carter rightly observes physical violence is only one manifestation of domestic violence. The mental and emotional abuse can be just as damaging. There is woefully little public awareness of the true nature of abuse and a desperate need for education for women of all ages. What happens, in practice, is that women stay in destructive relationships for way too long because they blame themselves for the failure of the relationship. An abusive man uses his partner’s hunger for love to control, humiliate and exploit, while an abused woman lacks the information to know that if it feels like her partner hates her,that is probably the bottom line. An abused man may talk about love, albeit in a slightly creepy way, but his behaviour is never that of a loving, supportive partner over any significant length of time.

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