Erie County Government - Official website of the Erie County, NY Government
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Erie County Department of Social Services
Erie County Department of Social Services
Note: Although this web site is fully accessible to all browsers and internet devices, it has been designed to utilize current web standards, and therefore appears quite differently in browsers that do not support current web standards.
For more information on web standards and how to upgrade your browser please visit the Browser Upgrade Campaign at http://www.webstandards.org/upgrade/.
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More Information:
Services for Children, Families & Adults
Domestic Violence
What is domestic violence?
Domestic violence is a pattern of intentional, coercive behaviors that may include verbal, physical, sexual, financial and/or emotional abuse directed against current or former spouses/partners, parents, children or any family member, in order to establish and maintain power and control.
Some behaviors in this pattern are clearly criminal acts. Other behaviors are not necessarily illegal but are abusive and controlling, designed to intimidate or instill fear.
Victims of domestic abuse come from every culture, income group, age, and religion. They frequently share feelings of isolation, guilt, fear, shame, and helplessness. Intervention by the criminal justice system is often necessary, and, with support, victims can emerge as survivors.
Does your partner or family member:
- Threaten or intimidate you, your children, or your pets?
- Become extremely jealous or overprotective?
- Destroy personal property?
- Call you names or make fun of you?
- Treat your roughly - grab, push, punch, shove, kick, or hit you?
- Pressure you sexually?
- Use drugs or alcohol as an excuse for his/her behavior?
If you answered yes to ANY of these questions, you are at risk of being a victim of domestic violence.
YOU ARE NOT ALONE
- 4.5 million women report being abused every year in the United States.
- Domestic violence is the leading cause of injury to women aged 15 - 44, more common than car accidents, mugging, and cancer deaths combined.
In April 1998, New York State passed legislation addressing the problem of domestic violence. Caseworkers in the Domestic Violence Unit assess claims of domestic violence made by welfare applicants &/or recipients to determine credibility, and to what extent the individual's safety would be jeopardized by fulfilling employment, paternity, child support, spousal support, or other welfare reform requirements.
These specially trained DV liaisons assist victims in gaining safety and independence from their abuser, whose control is often financial as well as physical.
The DV liaisons are also a resource for other county governmental divisions, and monitor the contacts of private agencies providing counseling and other non-residential domestic violence services.
For further information, contact the Domestic Violence Unit @ (716) 858-1515.
Your call is confidential.
Your information resource from the government of Erie County, New York
