There’s a crime trend that spikes right now, most every year. It’s domestic violence.
Families gathering, drinking, arguing and too many times it leads to physical fighting.
Are these cases, though, the first sign of something worse down the line?
Experts say domestic violence cases sometimes spark another trend, especially after the holidays. It's when more victims decide to leave their abusive homes.
Overnight, there were more cases of Christmas family quarreling that headed to court Wednesday.
Licensed Psychologist Raphi Wald says there are two main factors behind this trend.
First, he said, it’s the alcohol. Then, it's the close proximity around family.
“Any problem that was present gets magnified dramatically because you have this intense closeness."
However, when it comes to couples, especially, Wald says it’s unlikely abuse is isolated.
“If there has been a domestic physical incident the chances are it’s much more likely to happen again.”
Suzanne Turner is the CEO of the YWCA in West Palm Beach, an organization that helps provide services to victims of domestic violence.
“An abuser is going to be an abuser anytime during the 365 days a year,” said Turner. There may be something that exacerbates it."
She says her organization sees an increased need after the holidays, in January and February.
That’s when she says many victims decide to leave the abusive home.
“Stress around the holidays and particularly afterwards due to financial issues that resulted from the holidays is when we see a number of cases.”
