The video of Ray Rice punching his now wife Janay catapulted domestic abuse to the forefront of NFL news. Outside of the questions of who knew what when, the big question people ask is why didn’t Janay leave. How could she marry him? Mildred Mohammed has a very personal answer to that question.
When a sniper began shooting in the DC metro area, it did not occur to her that the shooter could be her ex-husband, John Allen Muhammad. Like everyone else, she was looking for a white van, barely taking notice of the blue Caprice parked in front of her house.
Melissa Mahler of Pro Player Insiders is joined in this discussion by Andrew Willis, Stop Abuse Campaign; Tony Richardson, former NFL player; Eileen King, Executive Director of Child Justice; and Mildred Muhammad former wife of the infamous DC sniper. In this episode the focus is on the victim’s perspective and answering that often asked question, “Why does she stay?”
In the United States, one in every three women will experience domestic violence in her lifetime. According to the Centers for Disease Control, Janay is one of 1.3 million women who will be the victim of physical assault by a partner this year alone. Still much of the media and public’s focus is not on how to change this statistic but on blaming the victim.
During a press conference held by the couple in May, the Baltimore Ravens tweeted, “Janay Rice says she deeply regrets the role that she played the night of the accident.” That tweet was later deleted after the release of the video, but it is a reflection of a common point-of-view.
With domestic violence in the forefront of the news and pop culture, it’s time to use this opportunity to change the question we ask from “how does she let this happen” to “why does this happen and how can we stop it.”
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