| Till Death Do Us Part Through the door she comes, at a laughing run, And she twirls about the room. She flashes a copy of brides magazine, And says that the weddings in June. A vision in white, as she walks down the isle, So trusting and so full of love. She believes every word, of those old wedding vows, And asks for Gods blessing from heaven above. Now,she smiles a lot, when friends happen by, And they think she's a happy young wife. No one can tell and she'll never say, Somethings horribly wrong with her life. She covers the bruises and hides all the hurts, And no one but him hears her cry. She tells Mom and Dad, that he treats her just fine, And they think he's a wonderful guy. The years creep by and her smile fades, How much longer can she hide the shame? So with head hung low, she finally admits, She's been playing a loosing game. She files the papers, then waits in fear, Someday soon, things will start to go right. But that hope is stilled on the court house steps, As shots ring out in the night. She tried to be true to the vows she made, When love filled her young, trusting heart. He said the same words, that she did that day, But he only remembered, TILL DEATH DO US PART. ©Joyce DeJesus AKA-Mouse Written Aug 30, 1994 In loving memory of Sandra Feb 23, 1964-Aug 25, 1994 Sandra was killed due to a cruel act of domestic violence. If you or someone you know is being abused . Please give them the link to this page. Domestic Violence Women were attacked about six times more often by offenders with whom they had an intimate relationship than were male violence victims during 1992 and 1993. During each year women were the victims of more than 4.5 million violent crimes, including approximately 500,000 rapes or other sexual assaults. In 29 percent of the violent crimes against women by lone offenders the perpetrators were intimates--husbands, former husbands, boyfriends or former boyfriends. The victims' friends or acquaintances committed more than half of the rapes and sexual assaults, intimates committed 26 percent, and strangers were responsible for about one in five. Forty-five percent of all violent attacks against female victims 12 years old and older by multiple offenders also involved offenders they knew. During 1992 approximately 28 percent of female homicide victims (1,414 women) were known to have been killed by their husbands, former husbands or boyfriends. In contrast, just over 3 percent of male homicide victims (637) were known to have been killed by their wives, former wives or girlfriends. Men, however, were more likely than women to experience violent crimes committed by both acquaintances and strangers. In fact, men were about twice as likely as women to experience acts of violence by strangers. About a fifth of the lone-offender attacks against women involved a weapon. Strangers used weapons 30 percent of the time, compared to 18 percent for intimates. However, women were injured by intimates in 52 percent of the attacks, compared to 20 percent of the attacks by strangers. Women from 19 to 29 years old were more likely than women of other ages to be victimized by an intimate. Also, the rate of intimate-offender attacks on women separated from their husbands was about three times higher than that of divorced women and about 25 times higher than that of married women. However, because the survey records a respondent's marital status only at the time of the interview, it is possible in some instances that separation or divorce followed the violence. Women of all races, as well as Hispanic and non-Hispanic women, were about equally vulnerable to attacks by intimates. However, women in families with incomes below $10,000 per year were more likely than other women to be violently attacked by an intimate. Information above was provided by: http://www.famvi.com Other links and resources about domestic violence : abuse counseling and treatment Hotline numbers you can call if you or someone you know is being abused. National Domestic Violence Hotline- (800) 799-SAFE (7233). RAIN Hotline (Rape, Abuse, Incest National Network) - (800) 656-HOPE this is a national number that will automatically transfer you to the rape crisis center nearest you, anywhere in the nation. It can be used as a last resort if people cannot find a domestic violence shelter. You are more then welcome to copy and paste this to your groups. The author of this very true story says the more that see it the better. Please do NOT change the page in anyway | 
