Domestic Violence: A Community Problem
- Naeemah Shakir
- Dec 21, 2025
- 2 min read
Domestic Violence is not just a private problem; it's a community problem. It is a civil rights issue as well as a human rights issue. It is a public health issue. It is a societal failure requiring public intervention, not just private resolution.
Consider that children who witness or are victims of abuse including emotional, physical, and sexual abuse tend to experience greater worry, frustration, aggression, learning difficulties, anxiety, depression, and suicidal thoughts, and in some cases lower empathy.
They are also at higher risk for health problems as adults including mental health conditions, diabetes, obesity, heart disease, and poor self-esteem, which has far-reaching implementations.
Studies have linked Intimate Partner Terrorism to chronic physical issues including autoimmune diseases and cancer, as well as significant mental health consequences. Effects also extend to pregnancy outcomes like preterm birth and low birth weight, often linked to stress, reproductive coercion, and traumatic brain injury.
These concerns impact not just the home, but the classroom, places of worship, the workplace, and beyond. We are all affected by domestic violence.
As a survivor, advocate, and recovery coach, I know these realities all too well, but I also know something else. I know God is our Comforter, Healer, Way-Maker, Rescuer, Redeemer, Restorer, Defender, and our Joy. He transforms sorrow, despair, and ruin into restoration, joy, and splendor. - Isaiah 61:3
We each have something we can do to join God in His mission to overcome evil.
♡Pray. Pray for victims. Pray for abusers. Pray directly against statistics.
♡ If you're a victim, prioritize your safety, health, and healing.
♡ Be a friend. Listen. Give the gift of presence.
♡ Educate yourself about abuse - especially hidden abuse - so you are not a source
of secondary abuse. This is critically important for people helpers.
♡ Advocate. "Learn to do right; seek justice. Defend the oppressed." - Isaiah 1:17
♡ Support organizations like this one, which are in the trenches alongside the
hurting and devastated.
Given the domestic violence statistics INSIDE and outside the church, you are guaranteed to know a victim. Please, do your part to educate, encourage, and empower those in your spheres of influence, so everyone can walk in their God-ordained freedom, abundance, and unique assignments. Our communities and our world are better for it.
🦋Naeemah
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