VICTIMIZATION

Victimization means being hurt by an action that is beyond your control. Unfortunately, victimization is frequently committed by someone close, such as family member.

Types of victimization include:

  • Child abuse (sexual, physical, emotional, neglect)
  • Date Rape
  • Bullying
  • Gang activity
  • Spousal, intimate partner, or teen dating violence
  • Elder abuse

Muggings and other crimes

Child Abuse

The effects of child abuse can last a lifetime. If you or someone you know is struggling with issues of past abuse, there are people that can help.

It is also important to know the signs of child abuse and report your suspicions. If you are concerned about a child and would like to report your concerns, there are several places to call. If the child is 0-18 years of age and the person suspected of causing or allowing the abuse is a parent, guardian or custodian of the child, operator of, or an employee in a home operated by an authorized agency or any type of daycare call:

• (800) 342-3720 – New York State Central Register Of Child Abuse and Maltreatment (Child Abuse Hotline)
• (607) 778-2647 – Broome County Department of Social Services
• If the situation does not fall into these categories, call law enforcement.

Without an official report, local authorities do not have the authority to intervene.

Domestic Violence/Dating Violence

Sometimes it is hard to recognize the warning signs of abuse. You don’t have to have broken bones or a black eye to be abused. You may be experiencing emotional abuse, which could turn into physical abuse.

Does your partner…

  • Act possessively toward you, stop you from seeing friends, check up on you, won’t accept a separation?
  • Act very bossy, give orders, make all the decisions, and does not take your opinion seriously?
  • Look at you or act in ways that scare you? Threaten you, use or own weapons? Do you worry about how your partner will react to things you say or do?
  • Have a history of fighting, losing temper quickly, and bragging about mistreating others?
  • Pressure you for sex, act forceful or scary around sex? Attempt to manipulate or guilt-trip you by saying, “If you really loved me you would…?”
  • Abuse drugs or alcohol and pressure you to take them?
  • Say you provoke him, you press his buttons, you make him do it, you lead him on?
  • Have a history of bad relationships and not accepting responsibility?
  • Believe that he should be in control and that you should be passive?
  • Hit, push, choke, restrain, kick, physically abuse you, or damage your things?
  • Threaten to commit suicide?

Resources

Crime Victims Assistance Center Crisis Line, (607) 722-4256
SOS Shelter Hotline, (607) 754-4340
Broome County Family Court, (607) 778-2156

Gang Violence
Learn About Gangs

Young people (as young as nine or ten) give reasons like these for joining gangs:

  • To belong to a group
  • For excitement
  • To get protection
  • To earn money
  • To be with friends

Gangs leave signs of their presence. Your child may adopt some of those signs as either a gang member or an imitator:

  • Wearing certain kinds or colors of clothing and emblems in very specific ways
  • Special hand signals
  • Gang symbols on walls as graffiti or on books or clothing
  • Major and negative behavior changes, such as:
    • Worse grades
    • Staying out without good reason
    • “Hanging” with known or suspected gang members
    • Carrying weapons
  • Possessing unexplained, relatively large sums of money

Sharpen Your Skills as a Parent

The odds are that the better you meet your child’s needs for support, caring and a sense of order and purpose, the less need your child will see for gangs.

  • Talk with and listen to your child
  • Put a high value on education and help your child to do his or her best in school
  • Help your kids identify positive role models and heroes.
  • Do everything possible to involve your children in supervised, positive group activities.
  • Praise them for doing well and encourage them to do their very best.
  • Know what your children are doing and whom they are with.

Don’t forget to talk about gangs. Tell your child that:

  • You disapprove of gangs
  • You don’t want to see your child hurt or arrested
  • You see your child as special and worth protecting
  • You want to help your child with problems
  • Family members don’t keep secrets from each other
  • You and other parents are working together against gangs

Help Keep (or Put) Gangs Out – Three Things You Can Do

  • Develop positive alternatives
  • Talk with other parents
  • Work with police and other agencies to organize against the gang organization

For more information about gangs call:

Broome County Gang Prevention
35 Exchange Street / PO Box 1906
Binghamton, NY 13902
(607) 723-9491, ext. 141
ganginfo@binghamtonha.org

Bullying

Every day in the United States 160,000 children stay home from school because of a bully.

Bullying behaviors include:

  • Name calling & nasty teasing
  • Threats & extortion
  • Physical violence
  • Damage to belongings
  • Spreading malicious rumors
  • Leaving peers out of social activities, deliberately & frequently

Signs of bullying problems:

  • Headaches
  • Stomachaches
  • Anxiety
  • Irritability

Responding to a bully:

  • Talk to the child
  • Explain bullying is unacceptable
  • Explain bullying makes others unhappy
  • Discourage using force to get what one wants
  • Praise children for being kind
  • Praise children for cooperating immediately
  • Encourage the bully to speak with a counselor
  • Demonstrate play without bullying

Responding to a victim:

  • Talk to the child
  • Make a note of what the child says (who does it, how often and where it occurs, and what exactly is done to the child)
  • Praise the child for telling an adult
  • Have child report further incidents

Bullies:

  • Like inflicting injury on others
  • Have little empathy for their victims
  • Deny their actions, saying they were provoked
  • Often receive physical punishment at home
  • Are taught to handle problems by hitting
  • Lack parental involvement and warmth
  • Are generally defiant toward adults
  • Can be anti-social
  • Tend to break school rules

Victims:

  • Tend to be anxious and insecure
  • Tend to be cautious
  • Suffer from low self-esteem
  • Rarely defend themselves
  • Rarely retaliate
  • May lack social skills
  • May lack friends
  • Are often socially isolated
  • Are often close to overprotective parents
  • Are often physically weaker than peers

Resources

If you have been a victim of a crime call:
Crime Victims Assistance Center Crisis line: (607) 722-4256

Other numbers that may be of assistance to you include:

Broome County Sheriff Department, (607) 778-2053
New York State Police, (607) 775-1241
CPEP, (607) 762-2302, 1 (800) 451-0560
Megan’s Law Hotline, 1 (900) 288-3838
First Call For Help, (607) 729-9100
Family & Children’s Society, (607) 729-6206
If you can’t find a service you need, you may call First Call for Help at
729-9100 for a complete listing of services in Broome County.