Halt Spousal Abuse Spousal Abuse Can Get Worse You are in a situation that needs immediate attention. If you wait any longer the situation will probably get worse. Government statistics indicate that every 15 seconds a woman is battered in the United States. Nearly a quarter of American women will be abused by a current or former partner at some time in their lives. Fully a quarter of all violent crime in the United States is wife assault. And, the FBI estimates that only 1 out of 10 incidents of domestic violence are reported to the police. Right now your abuse may not be physical. Many spouses experience emotional abuse and sexual abuse before they experience physical abuse. Some type of emotional abuse that may precede physical violence include: Being humiliated and made to feel you can't do anything right in public or private by rude bahaviour, sarcastic comments Feeling intimidated and frightened by shouting, looks, threats, or damage to your belongings Isolation by a partner who controls who you see or where you go, denies you access to your money, vehicle, or other belongings Feeling unimportant or insignificant because information about the household is not shared and all decisions are made by your partner If you experience these or other feelings that make you seem less than human you need help immediately. Things can get much worse. Family Counseling Option Your situation is most likely not unique to you. Spousal abuse is far too common. Don't be ashamed. You are not alone in needing help. Family counselors spend a good portion of their time helping to improve abusive situations. If you are able to agree with your spouse and other members of your family, you can arrange to meet with a family counselor. Rates vary from $70 to $200 per hour for talking with a family counselor. Some counselors offer a sliding scale based on family income. Some counselors accept insurance and some do not. The average cost of a family counseling session is about $100. One place to look to find a family counselor in your area is National Directory of Marriage & Family Counseling. Common Problems - Common Solutions Not every family can agree to or afford professional family counseling. To try to help, we are aranging to interview family counselors and present them with questions most people have. You can help us. I need your advice. In order to make our interviews most helpful I need to know what problems or concerns you have with spousal abuse. What do you want to know right now? Thanks in advance for your help. What I want to know right now about spousal abuse: What I want most is: Your Name Your Email Address:     We promise not to give your email address away -- not even to your mother. We appreciate your advice. With your help, we want this to be the best resource possible. We will email you when our resource is ready. We would like you to evaluate it. Thanks for your help, Bob Sherman