A discussion on domestic violence

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When celebrities engage in domestic violence, it saturates the headlines, but then often fades into the background. However, domestic violence is a pervasive reality for far too many families in the United States and the entire world beyond. Violent videos of celebrities engaging in domestic violence that go viral are a double-edged sword. On the one hand it opens up an opportunity to talk about a topic that is sometimes hard to discuss. On the other hand, the extreme nature of these videos- which is unfortunately what makes it mainstream newsworthy—may mean that we don’t see ourselves as having anything to learn from what he did. Our guest Tony Lapp of the group Menergy wrote an Op-Ed on Domestic Violence for the Inquirer recently, discussing exactly this. Menergy is a counseling program in Philadelphia for people who have been abusive to their intimate partners. We’ll also hear from Marcy Witherspoon, MSW, LSW. She is a social work consultant &rainer, who will weigh in on the partner’s side of this important issue- and the long-lasting effects that set in much earlier than previosly thought. Marcy Witherspoon is the former Director of Children and Youth Services at the Institute for Safe Families, and part of the Philadelphia ACE Task Force.

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