9. Make Your Home Safe and Healthy
Have a home that is free from violence and free of environmental hazards.
Help Is Available for Domestic Violence
Domestic violence, or intimate partner violence (IPV), is about power and control. Violence is always wrong; it is against the law. Violence is never the victim’s fault. There are many ways to get help, and you are not alone.
- If you are experiencing abuse and need immediate help, click here.
- To learn about Intimate Partner Violence (Domestic Violence) and its health effects, click here.
- For additional resources and help for yourself and others:
- For Publications on Intimate Partner Violence and related issues, click here.
TO GET HELP
- CALL 911: If you are in immediate danger, call 911.
- CALL 1-800-621-HOPE: To find out more about getting help and getting safe when you are not in immediate danger, you can call the City’s Domestic Violence Hotline (1-800-621-HOPE or 1-800-621-4673). Or call 311 and ask for the Hotline. Both are available 24 hours a day. Assistance is available in multiple languages and includes help with:
- Shelters to get away from an abuser.
- Leaving the relationship, temporarily or permanently.
- Counseling or other social services.
- A court order of protection or an arrest warrant
- TALK TO A HEALTHCARE PROVIDER: You can also talk to a healthcare provider about your fears. Healthcare providers include your regular doctor, a nurse, or any other medical professional at an emergency room, hospital, clinic or doctor’s office.
Intimate Partner Violence and its Effects on Health
Domestic violence, or intimate partner violence, involves a pattern of behaviors used by one partner to establish and maintain power and control over the other. These behaviors can include physical, sexual, and psychological (emotional) abuse by a current or former partner (including common-law husbands, boyfriends, girlfriends, lovers, and dating partners) in both opposite-sex and same-sex relationships.
Intimate partner violence can cause serious short- and long-term health problems, including physical injuries, such as bruises or broken bones, and psychological suffering, such as anxiety or depression.
Physical intimate partner violence includes:
- the use of weapons
- hitting, slapping, kicking
- pushing, shoving
Sexual intimate partner violence includes:
- forced and/or unwanted sexual intercourse (rape) or sexual touching
- threats of forced and/or unwanted sexual contact or violence
- unwanted non-contact sexual acts, such as voyeurism, exploitation, and verbal or behavioral sexual harassment
Sexual acts become violent and against the law when they are done without both partners’ consent. Active consent means that each person agrees to the sexual act freely and knowingly. A person who has any or all of the following characteristics CANNOT give consent:
- a person who has been threatened or coerced
- a person whose judgment is impaired by alcohol or drugs
- a person who is unconscious or asleep
- a person who has a mental impairment that does not allow for full understanding of the sexual act
- a person who is younger than 17 years of age
Psychological intimate partner violence includes:
- threatening to hit or to use weapons
- threatening to hurt children, relatives, friends or pets
- continually criticizing, name-calling, ridiculing
- controlling access to family, friends, work, and money
Both men and women can experience IPV, but most reported cases occur among women and it is a leading cause of women’s injuries. In 2004, intimate partner violence sent over 5,000 women and men to the emergency departments in NYC. Data suggest that an estimated 69,000 NYC women and 57,000 NYC men report that they are afraid of their partner. It is likely that even more New Yorkers are victims of violence, since some may be too afraid or ashamed to tell anyone about what is happening to them.
Additional Internet Resources and Help For Victims/Survivors
Additional Internet Resources and Help
For Family, Friends, Neighbors, Coworkers of Victims/Survivors
How can I help a friend or family member who is being abused?
Domestic Violence Awareness Handbook: “Each of us can do more and this handbook shows us how”
Helpful information for family and friends of domestic violence and incest victims
Taking action against intimate partner violence in the workplace
Toolkit for Working with Men and Boys – Taking Action as a Bystander
Am I an abuser? Self-assessment for teens
Violent and Controlling Behavior Checklist
Where can abusers get help?
Information on Domestic Violence Offenders Program
See It and Stop It: For teens who want to take action against dating violence
Help a teen in a dating violence relationship:
Additional Internet Resources and Help
For Health Care Providers
Publications on Intimate Partner Violence and Related Issues
NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene
New York State and National Facts and Figures
Special Topics
- Institute on Domestic Violence in the African American Community- Links to the Institute’s biannual newsletter on special topics for the African American Community.