Are you able to recognize a victim/survivor or perpetrator of Domestic Violence?  Many think Domestic Violence only occurs in poor communities and affect only the poor – women, men, and children. This is simply not true. Domestic Violence happens in all types of families and in all types of relationships.  There are no boundaries to class, culture, religion, sexual orientation, marital status, age, or sex among victims, survivors and perpetrators. 

I have seen firsthand and worked with individuals from different cultures, and of various sexual orientation and marital statuses working to survive Domestic Violence. In the Northern Virginia area, Domestic Violence is pervasive among the higher educated and higher socioeconomic communities.  Because of these statuses, it is in these communities that this insidious dynamic tends to be kept secret.  Women in particular will hide such events in an attempt to present a normal, if not fairy-tale family image in both her community and professional life.