Around twenty people per minute are physically abused by a partner in the US, and around one in fifteen children are exposed to intimate violence per year. While these statistics may seem surprising, The House on Mango Street, a book full of many lessons and examples, provides great glimpses into the lives of those affected by abuse, especially in the main character Esperanza's friends Sally and Minerva. We see examples of childhood abuse with Sally and her father’s relationship, and later in the story Sally and her husband’s relationship. We see examples of domestic abuse in Minerva and her boyfriend’s relationship. The high occurrence of domestic and childhood abuse highlights the need for more awareness and protection regarding these issues. …show more content…
She said her mama rubs lard on all the places it hurts. Then at school she’d say she fell. That’s where all the blue places come from. That’s why her skin is always scarred.” (Cisneros 56). This quote gives readers an insight to Sally’s life as she navigates abuse in her house and provides an idea how many kids make up lies about this abuse which can make it hard for them to receive help. “Next week she comes over black and blue and asks what she can do?” (Cisneros 53). This quote from Minerva gives us a better idea of domestic and partner abuse within life. We can also see how this abuse causes Minerva to be confused and uncertain about her relationship and this pain coming from a partner. Later in the story, we can see how these forms of abuse affect the characters as people and how they perceive their …show more content…
According to The National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, an organization whose mission is to envision a national culture in which we are all safe, empowered and free from domestic violence, in a single day in 2019, Michigan domestic violence programs provided services to 3,204 adult and child survivors. Another 376 requests for services went unmet due to lack of resources. This shows how lack of resources can damage peoples stability, and it is outrageous to think that these things are something unfixable so close to home. Another statistic from The National Coalition Against Domestic Violence says that in 2019, 57,018 incidents of domestic violence were reported to Michigan police, and many others went unreported. These are extreme numbers and to think that more cases of this that are unable to be resolved due to lack of resources and protection is simply