When the economy is bad, say the experts,  the rate of domestic violence seems to increase. The increase in domestic abuse calls to police departments has risen over 150% in the last two years. It is happening in relationships where there was never anything more than brief verbal arguments between the couples. Some experts believe that financial pressures and the outright fear of losing everything a couple has are the number one reason for domestic abuse.

That may be one theory, but, surprisingly, the current trend of violence in relationships is also happening where financial pressures are not present. It is happening in all age groups but is especially prevalent for couples who are between the ages of fifteen and twenty-five years old.

The act of violence by singer Chris Brown against his girlfriend, the popular singer Rhianna, is a prime example. Both are under twenty-five, both are financially set, yet a pattern of violent behavior has been documented by both friends and co-workers of the two celebrities.

Relationship violence and sexual assault in this age group cuts across all genders, sexual orientation, and racial backgrounds. It is an accepted part of any teen couple's relationship and that is as disturbing as it is sad. The idea that a couple expects some type of  abuse in their relationship is frightening. Where did this "it's okay" attitude come from?

In 2006, the  American Journal of Public Health reported that over thirty percent of teens had experienced physical or emotional battering in their relationships. That percentage has risen twenty percent in the last two years. Violence is an accepted fact of life to these couples.

Various outside factors contribute to physical violence. Addiction, alcohol, accepted forms of abuse in the media, and a history of family violence. If a partner has experienced domestic violence as a child he or she is more prone to resort to this behavior during a fight or in anger. That may explain why someone does it but doesn't excuse him or her from doing it. Nor does the attitude that it is "just part of all relationships." It isn't.

Everyone and every couple in every generation fights, but it is how you control your temper and your anger threshold that determines how far you will go in an argument. Abusive behavior is unacceptable at any time. It isn't normal, it isn't part of a loving relationship, it is cruel.

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2009 all rights reserved Kristen Houghton 

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