Breast cancer is an awful disease. At best, it is a disease that tears through a woman's life and wreaks havoc on her health, sense of self and femininity, her finances, those who love her... it touches every part of a life and has a ripple effect. But it is an "ok" disease to have. Those with breast cancer aren't blamed for their disease. They don't have to hide from friends, family, and coworkers when they lose their hair or get sick from chemotherapy. I am not implying that anything about breast cancer is acceptable, easy, or deserved... I am just noting that the general public accepts it as a horror.
Yesterday two delightful young women with whom I work were discussing the fact that October is both Breast Cancer Awareness month and Domestic Violence Awareness month. They were perturbed that Domestic Violence potentially stole some of the spotlight that they felt should be fully devoted to Breast Cancer awareness, research and treatment. When I mentioned that Domestic Violence "claimed" October first, that it affects far more women than breast cancer and had devastating impacts on women, families, places of business, etc. they were dubious. Once said she was too busy walking with Susan Komen to pay attention to Domestic Violence.
So I thought I would get some information to share about Domestic Violence and Breast Cancer. I hope that seeing these statistics will help people realize how very real the impact of domestic violence is and how much attention we need to bring to the problems caused by Domestic Violence. We need to put the same energy and effort we did into educating about breast cancer into educating and reducing domestic violence. It will do the world a world of good!
The chance of a woman having invasive breast cancer some time during her life is a little less than one in eight. The chance that a woman will be a victim of domestic violence is one in four. Twice as many women are victims of Domestic Violence than Breast Cancer.
That breaks down to about 232,340 women a year diagnosed with invasive breast cancer... but 1.3 MILLION are assaulted by a boyfriend/husband/intimate partner. One in three female homicide victims are victims of Domestic Violence and more than 3 women on average die daily.
No one blames a woman for getting breast cancer but many women who are victims of Domestic Violence are questioned about what they did, why they deserve this abuse. No one believes more education or choosing a different job or not having a baby in her teens will cause a woman to find a tumor in her breast but women without college educations or in lower paying jobs or who have children early in life are considered culpable in their abuse. But there are women who have multiple degrees and earn large salaries with no children who suffer at the hands of their partners. Domestic Violence doesn't discriminate any more than breast cancer but that isn't well understood.
Maybe one day we will be able to have an awareness month that blends both Domestic Violence and Breast Cancer. A pink and purple month that celebrates women and puts effort, energy and funding into stopping both these travesties. And swirly lids on yogurt, swirly socks on football players, and a difference being made for all women.
