Battering in a relationship, formally known as domestic violence, is defined as a pattern of behavior used to establish power and control over another person through fear and intimidation, often including the threat or use of violence (SafeHorizon). "Domestic Violence causes far more pain than the visible marks of bruises and scars" (Dianne Feinstein). According to the statistics, one in three women experience domestic violence. With that put into perspective, it is not rare to say that I have witnessed how this type of violence has affected some of the people I love. This cruel behavior not only destroys families, relationships and hopes; it also destroys lives, and in extreme cases, ends them. The singer Christina Perri addresses the issue of domestic violence in her song titled "human" by letting domestic violence victims know that they are not alone, that it is not their fault, and that it could happen to anyone.
Throughout the song, we see that the subject of domestic violence is addressed through the fact that the lyrics portray the difficult situation that women who suffer domestic violence have to go through. Domestic violence consists of acts that fall into one or more categories such as: emotional abuse, physical abuse and sexual abuse. Some people might argue that this song is just about how everyone bleeds, hurt, crash, and break down because they are only human; at first instance this is the obvious meaning you get out of the song. However, the artist is addressing the issue of domestic violence by using language that has different levels of meaning. The purpose of this is to explain and give some insight into the situation that an abused person lives in.
To get a better understanding and insight into the world of domestic violence, I decided to interview my aunt, whose identity has been concealed for the purpose of this paper by calling her "Barbara".