Make Your Great Escape!
Just What Is Intimate Partner Violence & Abuse, Or IPV/A?
Within the LGBTQ Community, domestic violence and abuse are referred to as Intimate Partner Violence and Abuse (IPV/A). This demoralizing, destructive, and potentially life-threatening cycle of behavior describes the physical, sexual, emotional and/or psychological harm by a current or former partner or spouse. IPV/A is a serious public health problem that affects millions of Americans each year.
According to The National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs (NCAVP), IPV/A is “a pattern of behaviors utilized by one partner (the abuser or batterer) to exert and maintain control over another person (the survivor or victim) where there exists an intimate, loving and dependent relationship.”
Psychologists and authors Jeanne Segal and Melinda Smith weigh in. “Domestic violence and abuse are used for one purpose and one purpose only: to gain and maintain total control over you. An abuser doesn’t ‘play fair.’ Abusers use fear, guilt, shame, and intimidation to wear you down and keep you under his or her ‘thumb.’ Your abuser may also threaten you, hurt you, or hurt those around you.”
Each year, between 50,000-100,000 lesbians (or more) and as many as 500,000 (or more) Gay/SGL men are battered. Stigma is a powerful social force that keeps this horrendous and abusive behavior swept under the rug and in the closet. Stigma is that albatross around your neck, choking the hell out of you.
The Network/La Red is a survivor-led, social justice organization that works to end partner abuse in the LGBTQ Community. In Mr. Evans’s Huffington Post interview, the organization explained, “Abuse is not about violence, it’s about control. You can be just as controlling of someone if you are small—as if you’re large. It’s about using violence or any other means of gaining and maintaining control.”
The good news is that Intimate Partner Violence and Abuse, or IPV/A, is preventable. Psychologists Segal and Smith stress, “The bottom line is that abusive behavior is never acceptable. You deserve to feel valued, respected, and safe.”
Wyatt O’Brian Evans is a survivor of Intimate Partner Violence and Abuse. An IPV/A Subject Matter Expert (SME), Mr. Evans has researched and interviewed victims and survivors. As a Journalist, Wyatt has written about this cycle of abuse for print and online media including the Huffington Post, Advocate, Baltimore Gay Life, BaltimoreOUTLoud, and Wyattevans.com.
Wyatt is an advocate and public speaker on this critical—and urgent—societal ill. IPV/A is the overarching theme of Nothing Can Tear Us Apart (NCTUA), his groundbreaking series of novels. FRENZY! is the latest installment. The next in the NCTUA series is scheduled for release in late 2021.
Mr. Evans states:
“I’ve made it my continuing and fervent mission to shine a bright light on Intimate Partner Violence and Abuse (IPV/A)- that insidious, horrific, and potentially life-threatening cycle of behavior that continues to be a growing concern within the LGBTQ Community.
“Remember: the most powerful weapon the abuser has in his/her arsenal is…SILENCE.
“Therefore, we RISE UP! And Tell Someone. Anyone Who Will Listen. We must make our ‘GREAT ESCAPE’!”
Let Wyatt O’Brian Evans empower you to make your “Great Escape,” the term he’s coined to inspire you to make that change. Wyatt is available to conduct IPV/A seminars and workshops for your group and organization. Simply click the “Contact” icon at the top of this website.
Notable IPV/A Resources
LGBTQ and HIV-Affected Hate and Intimate Partner Violence in 2017. http://avp.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/NCAVP-HV-IPV-2017-report.pdf
Gay Men’s Domestic Violence Project. www.gmdvp.org. 800-832-1901
The DC Coalition Against Domestic Violence (DCCADV). https://dccadv.org/. 202-299-1181
The National Domestic Violence Hotline. Thehotline.org. 800-799-7233
The Network/La Red. http://tnlr.org/en/ 800-832-1901
National Network to End Domestic Violence (NNEDV). https://nnedv.org/ 202-543-5566
National Coalition Against Domestic Violence. https://ncadv.org/ 303-839-1852.
Wyatt’s Huffington Post Articles:
Other IPV/A Related Articles:
The IPV/A Chronicles, Part One
I have made it my ongoing--and fervent--mission to continue to [...]
Tancredo Buff: Shining the Light on IPV/A
Every October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month (DWAM). It evolved from [...]
The Hushed Whispers of IPV/A
Intimate Partner Violence and Abuse (IPV/A) is a serious, potentially life-threatening—but [...]
The “FRENZY!” of IPV/A
Just what does the (possibly) a little odd, a tad [...]
Peeling Back the Curtain On IPV/A
IPV/A, the acronym for Intimate Partner Violence and Abuse, is generally [...]
Making a “Great Escape” from an Abusive Relationship
I have ab-so-lute-ly outstanding news to share! The Advocate, [...]
Louder Than The Silence!
WESURVIVEABUSE.COM, the well-respected and go-to-it domestic violence and abuse [...]
Teens & IPV/A
Recently, I was contacted by Ms. Katie Fitzpatrick, features [...]
Black & Blue (Is That You?)
Intimate Partner Violence and Abuse, or IPV/A, is no [...]
Broken Bones, Broken Dreams—An Update
Cover photo by Don Gillard Towering over me and [...]
“The Comeback Kid”: How Your Abuser Wins You Back
So finally, you’ve managed to make your “Great Escape” [...]