A Broward County advocate who helps domestic abuse victims said the abuse is increasing.
According to the Centers for Disease Control's newly released survey, 24 people a minute are raped, abused or stalked nationwide and these days one in three women is a victim, and one in four men.
Mary Riedel at Women in Distress of Broward County sees it more and more.
"In the last few years more men are coming forward. For example, last year the number of men that came forward seeking service doubled from 180 to more than 300," she said.
One of those is a 41-year old man who preferred to stay anonymous after leaving his wife of two years.
"She is very dominant, she is very, let’s say bossy," he told NBC Miami. "The first thing you might imagine is that she’s jealous. She’s not. It has nothing to do with it. It has to do with she controlling your life."
He says his wife ridiculed him constantly, in private and in front of friends and strangers.
She’d lock him out of the house knowing he had nowhere to go, and ultimately he found she was having affairs.
"Initially I thought it was part of a normal relationship situation, where you share with your couple. But, I ended up finding out that it was not."
Riedel said there is a lot of verbal and emotional abuse as well.
"We think of the physical abuse, but often it can be emotional or verbal, sometimes it’s financial abuse," she said. "I think it’s especially hard for men. Because there’s this society’s view that they should be able to take care of themselves."
With the holidays being a stressful time for many people abuse among significant others goes up significantly this time of year, too.
To contact Women in Distress click here.
