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The Domestic Violence Services Network (DVSN) has two new part-time professional positions available for individuals with energy and commitment who enjoy working in a collaborative team environment. Click Link below for more information.
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Domestic Violence Victim Assistance Program (DVVAP), and what you can do to help your friends and neighbors create safer communities.
Massachusetts Law
Many people think that domestic violence is when a husband hits his wife. While this is often true, domestic violence means much more than physical harm.
In the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, the law states that domestic violence occurs if any:
o Household member
o Dating partner
o Married or formerly married partner
o Parent of a child in common, or
o Relative by blood or marriage:
o attempts to cause physical harm
o causes physical harm
o places another in fear of physical harm, or
o causes another to engage involuntarily in sexual relations by force, threat, or duress
DVVAP's Definition:
DVVAP's definition of domestic violence includes the legal definition stated above and also includes other forms of abuse. At DVVAP, domestic violence is defined as a pattern
of coercive control that one individual intermittently exerts over another by means of spiritual, emotional, sexual, physical, or economic abuse.
Domestic Violence in Affluent Communities:
DVVAP's Mission Statement:
"The Domestic Violence Victim Assistance Program (DVVAP) is a unique community collaboration among central Middlesex police departments and non-profit agencies. We train volunteers to proactively advocate for victims of domestic violence and to offer immediate and follow-up crisis intervention services, including risk assessment, safety planning, and connection with supportive community resources."
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