Anti-Domestic Violence Group in Chicago Concerned over Brown’s Appearance at Grammys

The irony of Chris Brown appearing with Rihanna at the Grammy Awards during Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month was not lost on Between Friends, an anti-domestic violence group in Chicago. During the Grammy Awards, as teen girls tweeted about Brown and how he could beat them up anytime he wanted to, those working to end domestic violence were stunned by his appearance and the teens’ responses, especially given the statistics that indicate that nearly 1.5 million high school students will be abused by a dating partner in the U.S. this year. In response to dating and domestic violence, Between Friends, a nonprofit based on Chicago’s North Side, provides legal assistance, counseling, and health care education all focused on domestic violence and its rising teen counterpart, dating violence. According to the executive director of Between Friends, by the time teens reach the 11th grade, 95% have been in a dating relationship and, of those, more than 50% reported that they have been abused by a dating partner. The concern arises that because this is what young people are experiencing in their teen years, it will carry over into their domestic partnerships as adults. The flipside to the Brown/Rihanna relationship and the statistic cited by Between Friends and other anti-domestic violence groups is that there are also many false accusations of domestic violence, especially in custody disputes where parents will allege incidents of domestic violence in an attempt to gain sole custody of children. Some fathers’ rights groups have estimated that close to eighty percent of domestic violence allegations against men in custody disputes are false allegations. Domestic violence of any kind should, of course, never be tolerated, and those who perpetrate such heinous abuse should always be brought to justice. However, false allegations should likewise not be tolerated, and those who suffer them should be afforded the protection and legal aid of an experienced domestic violence attorney who has the experience and knowledge to bring the truth to light and to ensure that justice prevails. A conviction for a domestic violence charge not only has consequences in terms of jail time, penalties, or fines, but it can also irreparably ruin one’s reputation, future employment, and social opportunities. If you are facing a domestic violence charge, contact a domestic violence attorney in Chicago as soon as possible. Your domestic violence attorney can work with prosecutors to get the charges against you reduced or perhaps even dropped altogether. If your case does go to trial, your Chicago domestic violence attorney will aggressively pursue the best possible outcome for your case.