Domestic Violence Awareness Month comes to an end

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Zade C. Vadnais
  • 18th Wing Public Affairs
KADENA AIR BASE, Japan --  Every October during Domestic Violence Awareness Month, Kadena's Family Advocacy focuses on the prevention of domestic violence. By informing the public of the various programs and services they provide, Family Advocacy aims to put an end to spouse and child abuse incidents.

In addition to traditional counseling for families experiencing domestic violence and child abuse, Family Advocacy provides preventative services such as marriage counseling, anger management workshops and parenting classes.

"One thing we'd like the community to know is that everyone is welcome to take advantage of our preventative services," said Karen Kuemerle Pinollos, Family Advocacy outreach manager. "They don't have to have an 'incident' to seek our services, and there is no documentation made in their medical records when they see us for prevention services."

Taking advantage of preventative services is an easy way to prevent a potentially violent situation. Although help is readily available, the stigma and misconceptions surrounding domestic issues and counseling are among the toughest challenges faced by Family Advocacy.

"One of the most common myths is that domestic violence only happens to women because society believes that this is only a female issue," Kuemerle Pinollos said. "Another myth is that some people believe domestic violence is only present in certain cultures or social classes."

Pinollos said because of these myths, most domestic abuse situations in which males are victims go unreported, and non-physical abuse such as verbal, emotional and sexual abuse and neglect are not taken as seriously as physical abuse.

Those struggling with domestic violence are urged to contact Family Advocacy or any Family Advocacy Program on any military installation in Okinawa, as each office follows similar protocol. When reporting a domestic abuse situation, victims have two reporting options; restricted and unrestricted reporting.

Unrestricted reporting, the most common option, notifies all agencies including the alleged offender's chain of command. Restricted reports must meet certain criteria to remain restricted, and can only be filed when the victim reports directly to a Family Advocacy Program, Domestic Abuse Victim's Advocate, medical staff member or the chaplain.

Restricted reporting is not an option for any type of child abuse, Pinollos said.

Although the issue receives special attention in October, domestic violence is not a seasonal problem. With one in four women and one in seven men expected to become victims of domestic violence in their lifetime, it is up to everyone to ensure wingmen and family members are taken care of and are aware of the resources available to them.

"We'd like to tell people in the community to have the courage to call and report any incidents they see or know of domestic violence or child abuse," Pinollos said. "A lot of people think that it's none of their business but in actuality it's everyone's business to keep our community members safe."