NEW! Take The Test That Could Save Your Life
MOSAIC: The Tool That Could Save Your Life
According to security expert Gavin de Becker, a woman dies every four hours in the United States at the hands of her boyfriend or spouse. Gavin also says these crimes are often predictable and preventable.
To combat domestic violence, Gavin has developed a potentially lifesaving tool called MOSAIC. The online assessment is free and protects the user's identity.
As seen on Oprah April 15, 2010
Anyone - the victim or concerned loved ones - can log onto the website and answer 46 questions to determine how much of a threat an abuser poses to an individual or family. "MOSAIC expresses its results on a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being the most likely to escalate - including homicide," Gavin says.
The technology is based on similar programs used to protect congressmen and Supreme Court justices. "It takes the factors of a situation and breaks them down and then sees all the pieces of the puzzle and puts it back together in a way that, in a domestic violence situation, a woman can see the picture for the first time.
Project Heather
(360)000-0000
http://www.projectheather.com
ProjectHeather@comcast.net
This list identifies a series of behaviors typically demonstrated by batterers and abusive people. All of these forms of abuse, psychological, economic, and physical - come from the batterer's desire for power and control. The list can help you recognize if you or someone you know is in a violent relationship. check off those behaviors that apply to the relationship. The more checks on the page, the more dangerous the situation may be.
DESTRUCTIVE CRITICISM/VERBAL ABUSE:
Name-calling; mocking; accusing; blaming; yelling; swearing; making humiliating remarks or gestures.
PRESSURE TACTICS:
Rushing you to make decisions through "guilt-tripping" and other forms of intimidation; sulking; threatening to withhold money; manipulating the children; telling you what to do.
ABUSING AUTHORITY:
Always claiming to be right (insisting statements are "the truth"); telling you what to do; making big decisions; using "logic."
DISRESPECT:
Interrupting; changing topics; not listening or responding; twisting your words; putting you down in front of other people; saying bad things about your friends and family.
ABUSING TRUST:
Lying; withholding information; cheating on you; being overly jealous.
BREAKING PROMISES:
Not following through on agreements; not taking a fair share of responsibility; refusing to help with child care or housework.
EMOTIONAL WITHOLDING:
Not expressing feelings; not giving support, attention, or compliments; not respecting feelings, rights, or opinions.
MINIMIZING, DENYING, & BLAMING:
Making Light of behavior and not taking your concerns about it seriously; saying the abuse didn't happen; shifting responsibility for abusive behavior; saying you caused it.
ECONOMIC CONTROL:
Interfering with your work or not letting you work; refusing to give you or taking your money; taking your car keys or otherwise preventing you from using the car; threatening to report you to welfare or other social service agencies.
SELF-DESTRUCTIVE BEHAVIOR:
Abusing drugs or alcohol; threatening suicide or other forms of self-harm; deliberately saying or doing things that will have negative consequences (e.g., telling off the boss).
ISOLATION:
Preventing or making it difficult for you to see friends or relatives; monitoring phone calls; telling you where you can and cannot go.
HARASSMENT:
Making uninvited visits or calls; following you; checking up on you; embarrassing you in public; refusing to leave when asked.
ACTS OF VIOLENCE:
INTIMIDATION:
Making angry or threatening gestures; use of physical size to intimidate; standing in doorway during arguments; out shouting you; driving recklessly.
DESTRUCTION:
Destroying your possessions (e.g., furniture); punching walls; throwing and/or breaking things.
THREATS:
Making and/or carrying out threats to hurt you or others.
SEXUAL VIOLENCE:
Degrading treatment based on your sex or sexual orientation; using force or coercion to obtain sex or perform sexual acts.
PHYSICAL VIOLENCE:
Being violent to you, your children, household pets or others; Slapping; punching; grabbing; kicking; choking; pushing; biting; burning; stabbing; shoots; etc.
WEAPONS:
Use of weapons, keeping weapons around which frighten you; threatening or attempting to kill you or those you love.
