Research Corner

None of us can fight Domestic Abuse on our own. Alone we feel isolated, frightened, confused and weak, but together we gain strength, can help each other to survive and heal, and slowly increase public awareness of Domestic Violence.

Introduction

At present Hidden Hurt attracts around 6000 visits per week - from victims and survivors of abuse, concerned friends and family, counsellors, students, Social Workers, other agencies concerned with DV and the Police. Most are looking for general information on abuse, they want to understand how such a relationship works (or doesn't, as the case may be!), but many also come to Hidden Hurt looking for advice on how to deal with the pain they or their friends/sisters/clients etc are experiencing.

I receive a large number of emails every week, many simply needing to share their experiences and have them validated, reassurance that they are not mad or insane, that the treatment they have been subjected to is really not acceptable. I receive emails from single women and men, black victims of abuse and white victims, married women and men, heterosexuals and homosexuals, teenagers and children as young as 11, upset and confused by what is happening in their homes, religious people and non-believers, older people and younger people, from as far apart as Aberdeen, Australia and South Africa.

When I first started working on Hidden Hurt it was with the idea in mind that I would like to bring together on one website all the issues concerning Domestic Abuse which had affected me personally, for all those people, figuratively speaking, walking in my shoes. However, as time has gone on, and I have received more and more feedback from visitors to Hidden Hurt, I have been made aware of how many different aspects there are to Domestic Abuse depending on your own background, sexuality, the form of abuse you have been suffering, your relationship with either abuser or abused ... and I would like to increase the scope and breadth of Hidden Hurt to reflect these differences, include more detailed information on the very different problems we encounter within our specific community or due to our gender or sexual orientation.

How you can help

Send me your story

Whether you are/were the victim of abuse or a friend, your experiences can help others to understand and gain strenth. What happened, how did you feel about it, what response did you get when you tried approaching someone for help, were children involved and how did it affect them?

You can either send me your story in an email, or add it as an attachment - as long as you let me know in an email that it is coming (attachments are not automatically downloaded in case they contain a virus!).

Fill in the Questionnaire

Fill in the questionnaire and help me gain an insight into who visits Hidden Hurt, whether the information was helpful and what other topics would help further. Please note: no response will be made to the questionnaire. If you have a specific question, or would like me to respond, please contact me directly.

DV & Stalking

We are currently conducting fairly detailed research on the relationship between Domestic Violence and Stalking (following the ending of the abusive relationship). If you have any experience of Domestic Violence, please spare the time to fill this questionnaire in, even if you have not been stalked.

Fill in some of the polls scattered around Hidden Hurt

There are various polls on different issues scattered around the site, including one one why you are visiting Hidden Hurt. Feel free to complete any of these polls which show instant feedback and let other visitors know they are not the only ones to experience similar reactions. They also help me to decide which subjects and topics to concentrate on next!

Polls include:

• Why are YOU visiting this site?
• Is there a link between domestic violence and child abuse?
• Have your children witnessed or suffered abuse too?
• How understanding of abuse issues is your Church?
• Do you think Marital/Intimate Rape should be penalised the same as Stranger Rape?

Help me gather information for Articles

If one of the following forthcoming articles are subjects you can identify with, please help me gain more understanding and insight into the subjects by sending me your comments on some of the following issues:

And above all, if there is something important you think I have missed out, a mistake I have made, something you disagree on or a suggestion you have for Hidden Hurt, please contact me!