Domestic Violence May Be more than you expect

By Editor | August 5, 2025 |

Domestic Violence May Be more than you expect

The Scott County Family Justice Center (and others) are there to help

By Shane Gilreath

When we hear the words ‘domestic violence,’ it often conjures an image of aggressive temperaments and physicality, but domestic violence – often identified as “intimate partner violence” – is as broad as it is both controversial and traditionally shrouded in darkness. As a broad characteristic, according to Hannah Smith, Coordinated Community Response Specialist with the Scott County Family Justice Center, it constitutes a pattern of behavior used to gain power or control in intimate or household relationships. Coercive, controlling conduct that can include the physical violence (eg hitting, choking) with which it is most associated, but also emotional (eg threats, intimidation), verbal, sexual, financial, and other forms of abuse. Those behaviors can include threats, harassment, isolation, putting someone down, pressuring someone around sex, controlling finances, and other tactics to gain power and control.

According the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, in 2022, Tennessee reported thousands of domestic violence incidents, and while there are no known countywide statistics – with a population of 22,039 – data suggests that statewide patterns likely reflect violence trends locally. While domestic violence does not discriminate (1 in 4 men have experienced some form of physical violence, according to the Center for Disease Control), according to the Tennessee House Republican Caucus, 71% of those victims are female, with Tennessee consistently ranking among the highest in the nation for domestic violence fatality and violence against women, with 40% of Tennessee women experiencing intimate partner violence in their lifetimes, according to the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence.

The statistics are ever grimmer. According to Smith, “72% of all murder-suicides involve an intimate partner and 94% of the victims of these murder suicides are female.” CDC data, Smith told SCN, suggests that 1 in 15 children are exposed to intimate partner violence annually and 90% of these children are eyewitnesses to this violence.

For many, the obvious question is “why?” Smith tell SCN that there are numerous reasons why victims stay and maintain contact with abusers or feel they cannot leave an abusive relationship. Despite the abuse, victims often love or care about the people who harm them. “Keeping the family together may be very important to the victim for many reasons, including for the sake of children or religious and cultural beliefs.” said Smith. “Some victims fear that they will be seriously hurt or killed if they leave their abusers. Others do not have the financial resources and/or housing they need to leave. Medical conditions and disabilities may make living on their own difficult or impossible or the abusive individual may need the victims care.”

For those victims, there are many willing helpers and avenues of assistance. According to the Secretary of State, Tennessee’s “Safe at Home” program—modelled after similar initiatives in other states—provides a confidentialsecondary address for survivors to protect them from abusers seeking them through public records, helping victims escape. Local victims and survivors can source the Scott County Family Justice Center. It’s purpose, according to Smith, is to protect and empower victims and survivors of all forms of abuse – domestic violence, child abuse, sexual assault and exploitation, human trafficking and elder abuse. “We provide a secure physical site that has co-located, expert services that promote a future of safety, self-reliance, and opportunity for victims of family violence,” Smith told SCN. “We relentlessly advocate a zero-tolerance policy of all forms of interpersonal violence and drive social change through aggressive community education and collaboration.”

Prior to the opening of the Scott County Family Justice Center, victims who sought orders of protection had to visit the office of the Circuit Court Clerk to obtain an affidavit, then travel to find the magistrate before returning to the Circuit Court Clerk’s office. Now, victims can visit the Family Justice as a one-stop resource for the services they need, a more convenient and highly advisable step in countering the impacts of violence.

If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic violence:

Call the Tennessee hotline at 1-800-356-6767.

Reach out to the Scott County Family Justice Centers at (423)663-6638 for services like shelter, advocacy, and legal support. Orders of protection can also be applied for and granted through the Justice Center, who can assist with a trained domestic violence law enforcement officer so that victims will not have to visit the law enforcement agency. The Justice Center can connect you with an advocate from the Scott County Shelter Society or SAI’s Sexual Assault Program to create a safety plan, assess your level of risk, and connect you with other resources from our partner agencies..

Contact the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-SAFE (7233) or visit TheHotline.org for confidential help.

“Your experience with abuse is unique to you, and your path to safety and healing will be as well,” Smith said. “The staff of the SCFJC will listen to you, believe you, and explain the resources that are available.”

October is marked as Domestic Violence Month.