Domestic violence affects every income level, race and religion. It might be shocking for many to realize that controlling abusive behavior is pervasive even behind the gates of those perfect palatial estates of the rich and famous. Behind the beautiful smiles, perfect bodies and designer clothes, there are still very unhappy and even dangerous relationships. Domestic abuse is often finally publicized when there is a physical altercation, but the term also includes partners who exert financial, social and mental control over the other individual in the intimate relationship.
Just this past Thanksgiving weekend, Halle Berry’s ex-boyfriend and the father of her child, Gabriel Aubry, was hospitalized and arrested after he got into a physical altercation with Halle’s new fiancé. Aubry was taken to the hospital with fractured ribs and a bruised face and was charged with misdemeanor battery. There is no doubt that he both Aubry and the fiancé could use at least a 26 hour domestic violence class to learn to stop the irrational behavior.
In 2010 how can we forget the images of Oksana Grigorieva, the mother of Mel Gibson’s now 3-year-old daughter, with her teeth missing and face battered. The public got a bird’s eye-view into Mel’s anger issues when audio recordings of the actor screaming profanities and insults at Oksana were released. In March 2011, Gibson pleaded guilty to misdemeanor battery and avoided jail time by agreeing to 36 months of informal probation, community service work and a year of domestic violence counseling.
And finally, Chris Brown and Rihanna’s very public split really brought the issue of intimate partner domestic abuse to the forefront when the night before the Grammy Awards, Brown battered and bruised the singer. “He had no – no soul in his eyes. Just blank. So, at that point, I just didn’t know what could happen…” said Rihanna in an interview on 20/20. Brown pleaded guilty to felony assault and was sentenced to community service, 5 years of probation and a one-year domestic violence-counseling program.
Many high profile individuals who have mandated by the court system to take domestic violence classes have been choosing to do so online. Online classes are becoming increasingly popular because they allow individuals to learn the same education that they would in a public classroom, but in the privacy of
