A pattern of coercive control of an “intimate partner” founded in violence. This can include physical, sexual, emotional, economic, and psychological abuse. The intent of these actions are to gain control by making their partner feel incompetent, worthless and fearful, through threats of actions that frighten, intimidate, terrorize, manipulate, hurt, humiliate, blame, injure or wound someone.

Domestic Violence can happen to anyone of any race, age, sexual orientation, religion or gender; married, living together or who are dating.

SIGNS OF AN ABUSIVE RELATIONSHIP:

·         Using strict control (financial, social and/or appearance.)

·         Extreme jealousy;

·         Isolation from family and friends;

·         Excessive text and calls from a partner;

·         Unexplained injuries

PROTECTION ORDERS

All counties in Oklahoma use the form linked here to file protection orders. You can print the form and fill it out at the courthouse of your choice. If you need assistance with the process, please contact Victim Services as (580) 765-0733.

Add this link: http://www.oscn.net/static/forms/aoc_forms/protectiveorders.asp

Sexual assault is a term that refers to unwanted sexual act against or without a person’s consent. This type of assault encompasses more than violent physical incidents. Sexual Assault refers to any sexual, physical, verbal or visual act that forces a person against their will to join in unwanted sexual contact or attention.

Sexual Assault is a criminal offence. It includes a range of sexual abusive and exploitative behavior including rape with or without use of threats or other violence being inflicted, indecent assaults and forced viewing of pornography.

Statistics on Sexual offenses:

·         In Oklahoma, for the past decade, the rate of rape and attempted rape among females reported to law enforcement has been 35-45% higher than the U.S. rate.

·         American Indian women experience Sexual assault at a rate 3.5 times higher than all other ethnicities.

·         According to the National Crime Victimization Survey, 87% of Sexual Assaults on American Indian women are perpetrated by non-Indian men.

·         Since the earliest years of the colonial era, American Indian Women and girls have been sexually exploited for commercial purposes. (Deer, 2010: Fisher, 2002), but only              recently have they been considered victims rather than criminals. In the U.S. Trafficking Victim Protection Act of 2000 (TVPA), sex trafficking was recognized as a form of                human slavery “in which a commercial sex act is included by force, fraud, or coercion, or in which the person induced to perform such act has not attained 18 years of                  age.

·         86% of perpetrators of sexually violent crimes against American Indian people are non-Native.

·         More than half (51.5%) of female victims of rape reported being raped by an intimate partner.

·         1 out of 10 people has been raped by an intimate partner.

·         60% of domestically abused women have been sexually assaulted by their batterer.

Victims often experience many unfamiliar emotions such as: shock, disbelief, anger, fear, frustration, or guilt. Victims may be immobilized by the feeling that their lives will never be the same. Although these feelings are very normal, victims who are in a state of emotional crisis often are unable to work through these feelings on their own. They may not have the resources to seek professional assistance or may not know where to seek such support. Victims and/or their families may suffer financially, physically and/or emotionally. The Victim Service Staff is prepared to assist victims, witnesses and families with these issues.

VICTIMIZATIONS

Adult molested as a child- Adult age 18 or older who was sexually abused as a child (See child sexual abuse definition below).

Adult Sexual assault- Sexual offense – including rape, incest, fondling, exhibitionism, or pornography – of an adult age 18 or older.

Aggravated assault- Unlawful, intentional causing of serious bodily injury with or without a deadly weapon, or unlawful, intentional attempting or threatening of serious bodily injury or death with a deadly weapon or dangerous weapon.

Assault- An unlawful attack by one person on another, with or without a weapon, that inflicts, or attempts or threatens to inflict, physical injury.

Child physical abuse- Non-accidental injury to a child by a parent or other adult that may include severe beatings, burns, strangulation, or human bites.

Child sexual abuse- Sexual offense (see definition below) against a child by a parent or other adult.

DUI/DWI crash- Accident involving one or more motor vehicles in which at least one driver was under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs (DUI) or was legally intoxicated (DWI) at the time of the crash.

Elder abuse- Abuse perpetrated by a caretaker on an elderly individual who depends on others for support and assistance.

Human trafficking- Sex trafficking in which a commercial sex act is induced by force, fraud, or coercion, or in which the person induced to perform such act has not attained 18 years of age; or the recruitment, harboring, transportation, provision, or obtaining of a person for labor or services, through the use of force, fraud, or coercion, for the purpose of subjection to involuntary servitude, peonage, debt bondage, or slavery.

Sexual offense- Forcible rape, attempted rape, statutory rape, sexual harassment, prostitution, or other unlawful sexual contact and other unlawful behavior intended to result in sexual gratification or profit from sexual activity.

Robbery – Taking or attempting to take anything of value from the care, custody, or control of a person or persons by force or threat of force or violence.

Stalking – Any unwanted contact between two people that directly or indirectly communicates a threat or places the victim fear.