As a VIP group toured a women’s resource center last year in Phoenix, three participants shared an all-too-common experience: domestic violence, the Arizona Republic reports. The women each confided about past abusive marriages. The center aims at victims with means, with professional careers and from upscale neighborhoods who some consider immune from such violence. “This shows there are no boundaries,” said Sandy Cowen of the Fresh Start Women’s Foundation. “People need to hear that message over and over.”
It’s impossible to know how prevalent “upscale violence” is. Local advocates easily recount anecdotes about such victims. Michelle Robson, well-known in Valley social and non-profit circles, can’t forget the conversation at an Arizona Foundation for Women fund-raiser several years ago when she hosted a table of 12 women. After watching a short video on domestic violence, 10 of the 12 confided that they had experienced such abuse. “There was not a dry eye in the room when the lights came up,” Robson said. “I was shocked.”
Link: http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/0410DV-SURVIVE10.html