Violence against women in North AmericaFour million women are victims of domestic battery in the United States each year. The reason the number continues to grow is because the nation does not address this problem as a serious crime. Today it is seen as a mild problem in our society while it affects many of our communities. A program created in the country a couple of years ago is called Abuse Prevention. It is offered on a non-sponsored basis by the United Way agency. They have access to newspapers and television news, where they provide statistics and information about what women face in the community today. This program is a step forward in preventing violence against women. It seems like the first way to solve the problem is to expose it. The media is a way to let people around the world know what is really happening on our streets. This program also includes a treatment process used on families with violence problems to prevent them from worsening. Couples go to a weekly one hour and fifteen minute session where they go through three phases. (1) Evaluation and diagnosis (2) linking prevention efforts to current problems (3) treatment by facilitating differentiation. (Page 4 Perez, Philip)During the assessment and diagnosis, couples have individual interviews in which they fill out forms and have sheets that inform them about what violence against their partner really is. The interview is considered a key part of the process because it gives the therapist a better understanding of where the violence may lead or the risk of it escalating. “Couples are informed about what domestic violence really is, which is a violent confrontation between family or household members resulting in physical harm, sexual assault… half of the document… Search Premier. EBSCO. Network. 12 March 2014 "DOMESTIC VIOLENCE". Georgetown Journal of Gender & the Law 10.2 (2009): 369-431. Premier of academic research. EBSCO. Network. March 13, 2014. Eigenberg M. Helen. “Women Batters in the United States: Till Death Do Us Part” Waveland Pr Inc (October 19, 2000) Perez, Philip J., and Kip Rasmussen. “An ounce of prevention: A model for working with couples at risk of battery.” Contemporary Family Therapy: An International Journal 19.2 (1997): 229. Premier Academic Research. EBSCO. Network. March 12, 2014Vogt, Tertia, and Abraham P. Greeff. “The Impact of an Interim Protection Order (Domestic Violence Act 116 of 1998) on Victims of Domestic Violence.” Families in Society 91.1 (2010): 45-51. Premier of academic research. EBSCO. Web. March 3, 2014. http://vaw.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/14/3/346 “Violence Against Women” Web March 13.2014.