This attitude of how society views women as chattel - that's the biggest thing to overcome. When I first started a stake in the issue of relationship abuse, I got really beat up by the Christian right because I was interfering in what was a personal family affair. It's a "family matter." That's why I wish we'd drop the phrase "domestic violence." It sounds like a domesticated cat. It is the most vicious of all crimes - to be abused by someone you had a relationship with! Because then you blame yourself.
A lot of women reach out to me and tell me my music has given them the courage and confidence to break up with not just any boyfriend, but an unhealthy relationship.
When Glenda Jackson reveals that she has never been in a relationship with a man in which he hasn't raised his fists to her, I don't know whether this tells us more about the contemporary male or about Glenda Jackson.
I feel very sorry for people who are trapped in an abusive relationship and keep making excuses for their abuser.
I cannot think well of a man who sports with any woman's feelings; and there may often be a great deal more suffered than a stander-by can judge of.
If you're giving love and not receiving it, you're not in the right relationship. If you're receiving it and not giving it than you are taking advantage of the other person.
In the beginning, yes I did go back... (but) I learned that if it's continued abusive, you just can't stay there. When guys are young, they make mistakes. Nobody's perfect, but, if they do it more than once, then it's definitely a habit
It's not good to argue with your woman about something, because women feel strong about it, they slap you in your face, you still go back to them.
When you're in a relationship with a photographer, and they start abusing that relationship and being like, 'I want you to do this, and I want you to do that,' it makes you go, 'No.' I didn't want to work all the time.
The question, 'Why does she stay?' is code for some people for, 'It's her fault for staying,' as if [domestic violence] victims intentionally choose to fall in love with men intent upon destroying us.
Christ and The Church: If he were to apply for a divorce on the grounds of cruelty, adultery and desertion, he would probably get one.
I was associated with a woman who I was involved with and had a relationship with. She asked for money. I felt as though I was being blackmailed or there was some sort of extortion.
Patriarchy requires violence or the subliminal threat of violence in order to maintain itself... The most dangerous situation for a woman is not an unknown man in the street, or even the enemy in wartime, but a husband or lover in the isolation of their home.
The biggest challenge is to convince a woman that it's not her fault. My daughter is 25; my stepdaughter is 22. As a mother, I want them to know that if a boyfriend is abusive, you cannot ignore it ?- 'Oh, he's been drinking,' or 'He had a bad day.' There is no excuse for a man hitting a woman. Ever.
I think any time you have any kind of social ill, not just domestic violence...as much as it's about the act, the obvious theme of domestic violence, Domestic Violence Awareness Month is also about how men deal with their emotions. It's not just like who gets brutalized; sometimes it's women that are abusing men, too. I think it's just an opportunity for us to look at ourselves. How do we treat each other? Why do we treat each other that way?
You've got to be pretty mean to pick up on women who only know you from television and then cast them aside.
There's no battered woman alive who didn't know in advance that the man was bad.
I am fed up with men who use sex like a sleeping pill.
Abusive relationships go on and on. You're in it for so long that it can almost be impossible to see it for what it is. That just becomes your life. We get used to and adapt.
I think for people who are inside these relationships that are really hard to leave, there is always a compelling reason to stay. It's not that they are wholly bad people.
I know firsthand how alone you can feel when you’re being broken down in a relationship and forced to defend it or stay silent. Just being able to send a text message is anonymous and safe. Mary Kay and I believe that everyone deserves a safe, healthy relationship that makes you stronger and better and I want to make sure people know how to get the help they need.
Whenever I talk to survivors [of a domestic abuse relationship] who have lived through that and are on the other side and their whole perspective on life is a complete 180, I'm just so inspired.
Men have an important role to play in sending out the message that real men do not hurt or abuse their partners.
To me, one of the big silver linings of the Simpson trial is the advances we've made in understanding domestic violence as a lethal problem. Before that trial, I think there was a widespread sense that it was a family affair, a normal part of a relationship, not really a crime. The reality is that it's very much a crime, and a very serious one.
An abusive relationship is worse than being in prison. I mean literally, not figuratively.
