Cumberland County Mayor Allen Foster has proclaimed October 2020 National Domestic Violence Awareness Month.

The U.S. Department of Justice estimates that 1.3 million women and 835,000 men are victims of physical violence by a partner every year.

Every 9 seconds, a woman in the U.S. is beaten or assaulted by a current or ex-significant other.

1 in 4 men are victims of some form of physical violence by an intimate partner.

Here are a few ways to know if you’re in an abusive relationship that you need to get out of:

• Your partner has hit you, beat you, or strangled you in the past.
• Your partner is possessive. They check up on you constantly wondering where you are; they get mad at you for hanging out with certain people if you don’t do what they say.
• Your partner is jealous. (A small amount of jealousy is normal and healthy) however, if they accuse you of being unfaithful or isolate you from family or friends, that means the jealousy has gone too far.
• Your partner puts you down. They attack your intelligence, looks, mental health, or capabilities. They blame you for all of their violent outbursts and tell you nobody else will want you if you leave.
• Your partner threatens you or your family.
• Your partner physically and sexually abuses you. If they EVER push, shove, or hit you, or make you have sex with them when you don’t want to, they are abusing you (even if it doesn’t happen all the time.)

If you are abused, call 911 immediately. If you need help call the National Domestic Abuse Hotline at (800) 799-SAFE.

If you reside in Cumberland County or in Bledsoe, Fentress, Morgan, Rhea, Roane, and Van Buren, call the Avalon Center at (931) 456-0747 or their 24/7 Crisis line at 800-641-343 for help.