So, this morning at 4am, I was awoken by the screams of a woman. In my hazy awareness I walked to my bedroom window. I looked outside through my sleepy eyes and saw nothing.
“Get off of me, get off of me (screams)”
What could I do? I could have called 911 and report screams from a woman somewhere near my building. However, I did nothing. I went back to bed, only to be held awake by more yelling of the woman.
“So you’re trying to kill me, so you’re trying to kill me?”
I go to the window again. I see a figure just inside the entrance of the apartment building across the street from my building. I hear nothing. I see a woman pulling two glass bottles out of the garbage can of another building. She walks into the apartment building across the street from my bedroom window.
I don’t know what happened to the screaming woman. I don’t know what happened to the man or woman who was assaulting this woman. I don’t know if the woman who pulled the bottles out of the can was the screaming woman (but most likely it was). I don’t know what happen to the figure that walked from the apartment entrance into the apartment building. All I know is that in my inaction, I am no better than the assaulter.
Don’t be like me. Do something. Call 911 at the very least if you know of an assault or domestic abuse.
If you are in an abusive relationship there are a few hotlines that you can visit for help.
WOMEN IN NEED
Women In Need, Inc., (WIN) provides housing, help and hope to New York City women and their families who are homeless and disadvantaged. Through comprehensive programs such as shelter, supportive permanent housing, job training, domestic violence services, alcohol and substance abuse treatment and childcare, WIN offers the tools and guidance which allow our families to return to their communities and live independently.
DOMESTIC ABUSE HELPLINE
The Domestic Abuse Helpline for Men and Women has been helping those in need for a number of years. It is run and operated by unpaid volunteers who have devoted enormous amounts of time to ensuring that both male and female victims of domestic abuse get the help and respect they need to free themselves from violent relationships. Please read what follows and do what you can to help them to keep helping others.
THE NATIONAL DOMESTIC VIOLENCE HOTLINE
The Hotline is a nonprofit organization that provides crisis intervention, information and referral to victims of domestic violence, perpetrators, friends and families. The Hotline answers a variety of calls and is a resource for domestic violence advocates government officials, law enforcement agencies and the general public. The Hotline is toll-free, confidential and anonymous. It operates 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, in more than 170 different languages through interpreter services, with a TTY line available for the Deaf, Deaf-Blind and Hard of Hearing. The staff at the Hotline and the Texas Council on Family Violence is also available to provide assistance and guidance in a variety of areas including media, public relations, fundraising, public policy, legal advocacy and public education and training.
LiberTeeLove 