My Toxic Relationship Limit: When Things Aren’t Getting Better

Toxic relationships are more common than most people realize because some of the behaviors exhibited have been viewed as “normal” for far too long. But you know your relationship and your partner better than anyone. If things just don’t feel like they used to, and you don’t feel like yourself, it could be a major red flag.

Lekan Shonde, Suspected Wife Killer Now Under Arrest In Lagos

Suspected wife killer, Lekan Shonde, has been arrested by the Lagos State Police Command after he handed himself over on Monday to operatives of the Rapid Response Squad (RRS) in the State. Ronke Shonde, late wife of the suspect, was reportedly beaten to death by her husband last week Thursday in their apartment at Tiemo Crescent, off Awori Street in Egbeda area of the state.

Lekan Shonde had been speaking out from hiding, contacting his sister in law and family friends to ask to see and speak with them to share his side of the story. After some insinuations of suicide in his messages, the family stated in a video interview that they had forgiven him and that he should hand himself over to the police. Before emerging from hiding, Lekan also granted an interview to Punch, read below...

10 Survival Tips For Those Who Have Left Abusive Relationships

By Michael James

When already out of an abusive relationship, you cannot let your guard down even when you are no longer living with or interacting with your abuser. Your abuser will likely try to come back to your life, and it is very important that you put up strong barriers to protect yourself and your loved ones.

1. Consider relocating away from your abuser. A great way to restart anew is to put great distance between you and your abuser. This lessens the likelihood of contact, and lets you break away from the old habits that enabled your erratic relationship. You may choose to relocate to a new neighborhood, city, state or even country. You might think twice about relocating due to the hassles such as your children having to transfer schools, and having to find a new job and home, but relocating can be worth all that so you can have a fresh start.

Australian TV Anchor Says 50 Shades of Grey is Worst Movie Ever!

Lisa Wilkinson wrote a review of the 50 Shades of Grey movie in which she slammed the world-wide phenomenom around the books, and compared it to domestic violence.

The Australian morning show personality said her husband was hoping for nice things the night she saw Fifty Shades of Grey, but to say she did not enjoy it, and he was not rewarded with some bedroom action would be putting it mildly. Check out a snippet from her review below...

3 Problems That Will Destroy a Relationship

By Jenna Brown

There is no such thing as a perfect relationship. In every relationship there will be arguments and problems. They won’t be constant (at least, they shouldn’t be constant) but they will pop up from time to time. Sometimes though, these problems grow and become too big for the relationship to survive.

Before we start detailing some of the problems that you should be aware of, it is important to know that most of the time these problems are going to be outside of your control. All of the compromises and adapting you try to do will not solve them or magically make them go away. It’s a hard reality to accept but it is important that you do so. It might even literally save your life.

Survivor Behind Katy Perry Grammy Performance Speaks Out

Katy Perry used her Grammy performance yesterday to shed some celebrity light on domestic violence and abusive relationships. From opening her Super Bowl half time show with Roar, the singer slowed it down and brought it home with a powerful rendition of “By the Grace of God” preceeded by a special guest, Brooke Axtell, a domestic violence survivor.

To show how serious DV is, President Obama actually gave a statement before the double act, about how influential artists can be to helping encourage victims of domestic abuse get help and change thinking. “Artist have a unique power to change minds and attitudes,” the President said.

Lashed With Belt By 65-Year-Old Husband, Yejide Badmus Warns Against Domestic Violence

Yejide Badmus is speaking out on her experience of domestic violence, and the last straw that broke the camel's back, after her pictures went viral on social media yesterday. And you won't believe that it's not the pictures up there that got her to leave. Yejide stayed for almost another full year after the beating with a leather belt and metal buckle left her with those scars you see.

It was another incident involving a stabbing which left her at the point of death that finally opened her eyes. She is now warning and educating other women, and men, not to endure violent relationships, and to leave while they're still alive. Read below in her own words.

Man Forces Fiance To Swallow Engagement Ring After Arguing Over Wedding Plans

Kyle Norman, a member of early 2000s boy group Jagged Edge, has been arrested in Atlanta today Jan. 29th after he brutally assaulted his fiancee and made her swallow her engagement ring. He's currently being held at the Fulton County Jail on a charge of aggravated assault.

His fiancee is currently in hospital with "welts under her eyes, a golf ball-sized knot on her forehead, a cut to her nose and a blood clot in her right eye".

Lagos Court Grants Woman N5K Monthly After Dissolving 8 Months Old Marriage

A divorce court sitting in Ikorodu Lagos yesterday, dissolved an 8-month-old marriage between Mr. John Obah, 37, and his former wife Gift, 21, while granting her custody of their little six-month old son. John Obah was also mandated to pay the woman N5000 monthly for child support.

The divorce was granted on the grounds of physical abuse on the husband's part and the alleged constant harassment of husband by his wife's mother after such altercations.

Janay Rice Says Elevator Incident Was God's Plan To Spotlight Abused Women

Janay Rice says the elevator attack was all part of god's plan. Janay Rice and her husband NFL player, Ray Rice came to public attention after video emerged of the player hitting Janay, then his fiancee, in an elevator, and knocking her out. In another video, he drags her unconscious body out of the elevator. The videos went viral and Ray Rice was cut from his team, Baltimore Ravens, and suspended indefinitely from the NFL.

After an appeal, the suspension has been lifted and Ray Rice is now looking for a new team to take him on. Now his wife, Ray Rice has stood by him through it all. In this new interview with Matt Lauer of NBC Today, Janay Rice says she believes she and Ray were "chosen" to help bring awareness to domestic violence... thoughts? Read excerpts below...

VH1’s Love & Hip Hop Cast Member Yung Berg Arrested For Domestic Violence

'Love & Hip Hop' star Yung Berg has been arrested for domestic violence after allegedly choking and assaulting a woman. The 30-year-old rapper/producer and reality TV actor was arrested for allegedly beating up his girlfriend and charged with “obstruction of breathing.”

Jennifer Lopez Admits Abuse In New Book And How She Ended Marriage to Marc Anthony

Jennifer Lopez has a new book coming out soon titled True Love, in which she talks about several of her relationships, including marriage to Marc Anthony that lasted 7 years and produced two children, 6 year old twins, son, Max and daughter, Emme.

Meredith Vieira Shares Her Personal Story of Domestic Violence on New Talk Show

Meredith Vieira will be discussing the topic of domestic violence and the hashtag #WhiIStayed on today's episode of her brand new afternoon talk show.

As activists continue to raise awareness on DV following the stories of Ray Rice and Adrian Peterson in the NFL, the former Who Wants to be a Millionaire host will be sharing a personal story of the experiences she had with an abusive boyfriend many years ago. She told ABC;

"It started out with, we’d have a fight and he’d just sort of grab my arm. I didn’t think a lot about it, and then it turned into pushing me against the wall and then it went beyond that to actually taking his hand and grabbing my face and saying, ‘I could ruin your career if I wanted to and no one would want you.'"

"Then there was the night that, we shared an apartment, and he threw me into a shower, naked in scalding water and then he threw me outside into the hallway, we lived in an apartment building, and I hid in the stairwell for two hours until he came again crying, and said ‘I promise I won’t do this again.’ And I continued to stay in that relationship until I was offered a job in another state and that’s where I felt I had the ability to get away."

The Power And Control Wheel - Practical Ways To Recognize Domestic Violence

After reading the posts about the domestic violence incident involving Janay and Ray Rice, and while going through the #WhyIStayed hashtag that shared the stories of other abused women, I came across this image.

The Power and Control Wheel above shows how domestic violence is not only about physical and/or sexual abuse, but also involves a range of tactics of psychological, emotional and economic abuse.

Domestic violence is usually characterised by power and control, with an abuser controlling their victims through coercion and fear in order to get their own way. One of the main ways abusers control and intimidate their partners and family members is through psychological/emotional abuse.

Nigerian Man Arrested And Charged For Kidnapping And Raping 21-Year-Old Victim

Samuel Okorie, a 29 year old Nigerian man in Brookline, Massachusetts has been arrested and charged with rape, kidnapping and robbery. Okorie was accused by a young woman of grabbing her at a public place, forcefully taking her to his place, and sexually assaulting her. The incident took place over the weekend in a residential neighbourhood.

According to police report, a 21 year old woman identified Okorie as the man who sexually assaulted her. Police say the victim ran up the street, crying for help.

A neighbor said the victim came running to her door Sunday morning as she was getting ready to go to church. She said the girl “had her shoes in her hands and was shaking uncontrollably, screaming, ‘Help me! Help me!’”

“The girl started crying louder and louder, yelling, ‘He raped me and he’s going to come and get me,’” the neighbor said. The woman called 911 immediately, and police were soon on the scene.

Oscar Pistorius Cleared Of Murder Charges, Awaits Final Judgment

Oscar Pistorius did not commit murder the night he killed Reeva Steenkamp, but his conduct was "negligent," the judge at his trial said, suggesting she will find the Olympian guilty of culpable homicide.

There is no minimum sentence for culpable homicide in South African law. It's up to the judge to decide.

He did not intend to kill her, Judge Thokozile Masipa said.

As he fired four bullets into the bathroom of his home in Pretoria on Valentine's Day last year, he did not foresee the "possibility that he would kill the person behind the door, let alone the deceased, as he thought she was in the bedroom at the time," Masipa said.

Janay Rice Inspires #WhyIStayed Stories By Beverly Gooden And Other Abused Women

I've never been in an abusive relationship, and when I saw the video of Janay Rice being punched in the head by her then fiance, I just couldn't imagine why she went on to marry him. Beverly Gooden has been in one, and she knows what could be driving Janay Rice.

Seeing many on social media calling out Janay especially after she released a statement defending her NFL player husband, Beverly decided to change the conversation. She called on her followers to share their stories of domestic abuse with the hashtag #WhyIStayed in an effort to draw awareness to the complexities of domestic violence. She wrote on her website;

For over a year, I was physically abused by my ex-husband. When TMZ released the video of Ray Rice punching, dragging, and spitting on his wife this morning, the internet exploded with questions about her. Why didn't she leave? Why did she marry him? Why did she stay?

I can't speak for Janay Rice, but I can speak for Beverly Gooden. Why did I stay? Check out some of my reasons here. Leaving was a process, not an event. And sometimes it takes awhile to navigate through the process.

I believe in storytelling. I believe in the power of shared experience. I believe that we find strength in community. That is why I created this hashtag. I hope those tweeting using #WhyIStayed find a voice, find love, find compassion, and find hope.

Check out some of the touching tweets below. I'm happy especially with those who add #WhyIleft to show they have put the abuse and abuser behind them.

Assaulted Wife Defends Ray Rice After He is Sacked And Then Suspended By NFL

NFL player Ray Rice has been cut from the Baltimore Ravens and then subsequently suspended indefinitely from the NFL after video emerged of the moment he knocked his fiance out with an uppercut and then dragged her out of the elevator like a sack of beans.

Janay Palmer is the abused fiancee, now wife and she is not happy with the media for resurrecting that incident. In an instagram post, Janay took out her frustration on the media and what it has done to her family. Janay defends her husband and how he regretted his actions. She also talks about how the release of the video has practically ruined their lives.

Read her statement below...

Video Of Ray Rice Heartlessly Knocking Out Fiancee In Elevator - Watch

Domestic violence is real my people, and for some couples, it seems to be a casual part of their life and relationships. Shocking images and video has been released of the alleged domestic assault by Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice on his then-fiance inside an Atlantic City casino elevator.

The incident took place Feb. 15th at the Revel Hotel and Casino in Atlantic City -- after Ray and then-fiancee (now wife) Janay Palmer got into a heated argument on their way into the elevator.

Inside the elevator it's apparent he strikes first ... she hits back ... and then Rice delivers the knockout
blow. The punch knocks Janay off her feet and she smashes her head on the elevator hand rail knocking her out cold. Ray doesn't seem phased and when the door opens, he drags her out into the hotel.

Jealous Boyfriend In Court After He Attacks Teenage Girlfriend, Tries To Bite Off Her Lips

18 year old Chantelle Ward suffered horrific injuries to her face after her jealous boyfriend bit her lip during a violent attack. The teenager said her boyfriend, 23 year old Rhys Culley sank his teeth into her lips during a kiss after asking her if she loved him.

The 23-year-old was jealous and insecure about what she would do while he was working away. She told jurors during the trial;

'He put his whole mouth around my lips and pulled, I thought that my whole lip had come off. There was blood everywhere.'

They had been celebrating Miss Ward's mother's birthday and when they got back to her house, he brought up a conversation that his girlfriend had had with another man on Facebook earlier in the month.

He then took her phone off her in a bid to look through her Facebook messages. When he found that the messages were no longer there he became angry and started to shout at her, accusing her of having something to hide.