DV in the Deaf Community

I spent the Thanksgiving holiday in Wilmington with my best friend and his family. We arrived in Wilmington late Wednesday night, and I decided to go shopping for the groceries I was going to need for the dishes I would cook the following day. Me and my best friend were in line at the checkout, when a girl approached us asking how many items we had. I could hardly understand her for two reasons: 1) she was deaf and her speech was quiet muffled and 2) the right side of her face was swollen about 3 times as large as the left side. She looked desperate and pleading and asked if she could cut ahead of me and him. We said yes, and as she walked by me, I could see that her jaw was most likely broken and the entire right side of her face and neck were severely bruised. She asked the cashier to hurry because her boyfriend was really angry and he beats her. I didn't say anything to her. Inside I was outraged, but I didn't know what to do. She look frantic and was tapping her feet and hands, looking pained that the cashier was not going any quicker. Once her items were rung up, she handed the cashier her EBT card. It was not working when she swiped it. At that point, I told her to just go, I would pay for her groceries. She said thank you several times and practically ran out of the store. I felt sick the entire ride home, as did my friend. We both agreed that we should have said something. My fear was that keeping her there to ask her if she needed help would endanger her even further, angering her boyfriend that she was taking so long. But I still wish I had tried. Because of this situation, I decided to research if domestic violence is prevalent in the deaf community. I found that sexual and domestic violence are both a problem in the deaf community, and there was an organization called "Deaf Hope" established "to end domestic and sexual violence against Deaf women and children through empowerment, education and services." I am glad that I am aware of an organization that specifically provides aid to deaf women, and if this situation ever arose in the future I would feel much better prepared to give advice to someone in that situation. I hope that next time I will speak out for people that are not advocating for themselves, even if I am not quite sure of what to do.

http://www.deaf-hope.org/