Illinois state law recognizes domestic violence as a serious crime involving the abuse of another family member. Illinois defines family members as those who are related by blood, are married, share a home/dwelling, share common children, people who are dating, and people with disabilities. State law defines domestic violence as abuse, physical assaults, threats, harassment, neglect, exploitation, or any behavior that interferes with the personal liberty of another family/household member. The Illinois Domestic Violence Act protects any family or household member, adults with disabilities, and any minor or dependent. Under Illinois law, domestic battery occurs when a person knowingly inflicts bodily harm to any family/household member, or fakes physical contact of an insulting or provoking nature. Furthermore, Illinois law dictates that domestic battery is a Class A misdemeanor that carries up to 1 year in prison. A second domestic battery conviction is a Class 4
felony and carries a prison sentence of 1 to 3 years.
Leaving an abusive relationship is dangerous and often times extremely hard to do if there is no support network for the victim. Illinois has dozens of shelters across the state to help people in violent situations and Chicago alone has 19 places for people to seek refuge. One such place, Between Friends, was founded in 1986. Between Friends provides a plethora of services for victims of domestic violence including a crisis line, counseling, court advocacy, and education efforts. All of these services are offered free of charge. http://www.betweenfriendschicago.org/aboutus.html
The Illinois department of human services also maintains a 24-hour toll free hotline available to anyone in need: 1-877-TO END DV or 1-877-863-6338
Media Aspect:
Elaine Weiss wrote a popular book on DV titled: Surviving Domestic Violence: Voices of Women Who Broke Free
http://books.google.com/books/about/Surviving_Domestic_Violence.html?id=eSPZzKibNnYC
The 2009 movie "Precious" is about an abused child: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0929632/
Leaving an abusive relationship is dangerous and often times extremely hard to do if there is no support network for the victim. Illinois has dozens of shelters across the state to help people in violent situations and Chicago alone has 19 places for people to seek refuge. One such place, Between Friends, was founded in 1986. Between Friends provides a plethora of services for victims of domestic violence including a crisis line, counseling, court advocacy, and education efforts. All of these services are offered free of charge. http://www.betweenfriendschicago.org/aboutus.html
The Illinois department of human services also maintains a 24-hour toll free hotline available to anyone in need: 1-877-TO END DV or 1-877-863-6338
Media Aspect:
Elaine Weiss wrote a popular book on DV titled: Surviving Domestic Violence: Voices of Women Who Broke Free
http://books.google.com/books/about/Surviving_Domestic_Violence.html?id=eSPZzKibNnYC
The 2009 movie "Precious" is about an abused child: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0929632/
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