Why Standing Courageous Exists:
There is a perception that healthcare workers and first responders (Law Enforcement Officers, Fire Fighters, and Emergency Medical Technicians) receive training on domestic violence, strangulation, traumatic brain injury (as related to domestic violence) and sexual assault. I have been in healthcare for over 17 years and until I started working with Standing Courageous, I was never given anything more than basic awareness of these topics. As a Paramedic Instructor, I had never taught any of my students about those topics either.
We are educating on topics that aren’t being done in our area. Strangulation is a precursor to murder. Strangulation and domestic violence can lead to PTSD as well as traumatic brain injury. I know this as a fact, I have them both. This awareness and training is being done outside of our area so we are getting the training and bringing it back to educate our first responders at oasisnaturalcleaning.com.
There is a need for ALL first responders and healthcare workers to have in depth training on domestic violence. It is not as simple as knowing what it is. These personnel are often lifelines for victims. First responders often get to see the victim, abuser, and the home without the facades of “the happy family”. The problem is, they need to know what they are really looking at. Educating on the conditioned victim, malignant narcissist, and escalation of incidents is imperative.
Having all healthcare workers and first responders aware of the invisible injuries in domestic violence like strangulation, PTSD, and traumatic brain injury will help not only victims to get better care and services but also allow Law Enforcement to be educated about the dangers abusers bring. This training could help with the prosecution of serial abusers and give warning to potential domestic murderers.
We are committed to providing this awareness and education in Northwest Ohio. Domestic violence can have an impact on every single person in America. There is a link between mass killers and domestic abusers. If you have ever been to an elementary school, airport, nightclub, or standing on the side of a street watching fireworks, you were doing exactly what people were doing when they too became victims of a domestic abuser.
The time is now, to Stand Courageous and each do our part to address the domestic violence epidemic.
-Paula, Founder and Executive Director