BY IRIS B. HOLTON
Sentinel City Editor
For more than 24 years, Major Diane Hobley Burney has been a member of the Tampa Police Department. And during that time, she has responded to more calls than she would like to remember pertaining to domestic violence.
October is National Domestic Violence Month and Major Hobley Burney took time to share some advice with Sentinel readers. She also visits schools and talks to teenagers about not becoming victims.
“I was talking to a group of teenagers and one little girl said that her boyfriend only slaps her. I explained to her and the other girls that when a person uses violence, he becomes more and more aggressive. It is so unfortunate that people associate love with domestic violence. They don’t recognize that it creates a very volatile and dangerous situation. If children are exposed to domestic violence and the people stay together, the children connect that with love. But, we have to break the cycle.
“Abuse is abuse. It doesn’t matter if it is verbal, mental or physical. Some people don’t realize that if a person can’t go to the store without permission, that’s economic abuse.”
Major Hobley Burney said that between January 1st and October 7th, the Tampa Police Department responded to and investigated 2,100 cases of Domestic Violence. So far, this year, there has been only 1 death attributed to Domestic Violence, but she said even one is too many.
She further said that some families may see that their loved one is being abused, but feel that it’s not his or her business. Others become frustrated when the victim refuses to leave the situation.
“Families and friends have to understand that it is very difficult for the victim to leave. They have to be patient and eventually that person will leave. They also have to understand that this is the most dangerous time for them because by leaving she is taking control away from the abuser. A victim may go to a safe place five or six times before finally breaking the ties. Family and friends have to be patient and provide support for them,” Major Hobley Burney said.
Some signs of Domestic Violence includes the abuser having a controlling nature; isolating the victim from loved ones and friends; verbal abuse that progresses to physical abuse, sexual abuse, and mental abuse.
