Domestic Violence in the Media: effective and supportive?

This is an advertisement for the Women's Aid Federation in England. As the national domestic violence charity, Women's Aid runs some pretty unsettling advertisements. However, its effectiveness cannot be denied. "What will it take to get people talking about domestic abuse?"

The following is a victim's entry on community.feministing.com's blog. After being in an abusive relationship in the past, she says she continues to suffer, and the media isn't helping the cause.

The victim writes, "The media both locally and nationally, often sensationalize graphic incidents in order to gain viewer ratings. The media also marginalizes victims, mirroring and in some cases creating, the notion that victims of domestic violence must have done something to deserve the abuse. There have been several incidents in which reports dehumanized a victim of abuse, substantiating the criminal act committed by the one in power (usually a male), by casting the victim in a negative light." Read more of what she says: Domestic Violence, Athletics, and the Media

Is the media deterring from the efforts to diminish domestic violence? Does the media sensationalize the victims, furthering their suffering? How do we get around this?

By spreading awareness of the immensity of this issue, you can help make people realize that domestic violence is NEVER okay. By gaining more awareness, domestic violence can be put further in a negative light, while offering more and more support for its victims.