Popular singer Rihanna was recently discovered to have allegedly been beaten by her boyfriend, singer Chris Brow n. Photos leaked on the internet have given the public a glimpse into the horrors of domestic abuse. This event serves as a painful reminder of the violence that takes place behind closed doors more often than we want to acknowledge.

Just as a reminder of how big this problem is, I want to quote a few statistics:

25% of women and 7.6% of men have been raped or physically assaulted by a current or former spouse, cohabiting partner, or dating partner/ acquaintance. Think of that: one quarter of the female population!

Approximately 1.3 million women and 835,000 men are physically assaulted by an intimate partner annually in the U.S. That’s just in one year.

In recent years, an intimate partner killed approximately 33% of female murder victims and 4% of male murder victims.

Intimate partner violence made up 20% of all nonfatal violent crime experienced by women.

Between 1998 and 2002, 84% of spouse abuse victims were females.

So what does this information tell us. If you’ve been victim, it tells you that you’re not alone. If you are a bystander, it tells you that it is far more common than you think and you need to be on the lookout.

If you have been a victim of domestic abuse, help is available from many sources. The worst (and most incorrect) thing you could think is that you are alone and no one will help you. Giving into this fear only perpetuates the cycle of abuse. For more information, check out the following websites. Most importantly, take yourself out of the situation and involve law enforcement.

National Domestic Violence Hotline: http://www.ndvh.org/

Helpguide.org: http://www.helpguide.org/mental/domestic_violence_abuse_types_signs_causes_effects.htm

WomensHealth.gov: http://www.womenshealth.gov/Violence/state/