On any given day in the state of Indiana, over 2,000 people report a case of domestic violence or utilize domestic violence resources – and that is only a snapshot. Domestic violence is defined as violent or aggressive behavior within the home, typically involving the violent abuse of a spouse or partner.

One in four women will experience domestic violence during their lifetime. We see it on the news and we read about it in the paper, but domestic violence is affecting people in our own front yard. These aggressive and violent acts and their ever-lasting effects do not simply cease to exist once people step foot onto this Indiana campus.

Bailee Hager, an IU junior at the Kelley School of Business, grew up in a Columbia City, Indiana home with a father diagnosed with Bipolar disorder and schizophrenia. When Hager was twelve, she says her father developed a methamphetamine addiction. At first, she says, the violence at home started mildly against her mother whenever Hager and her older sister were not around. But the perspective changed one day after Hager came home from school field trip.

“She was sitting with her hand covering her eye,” Hager recalls. “When she moved her hand the whole half of her face was black-and-blue and swollen.”

The violence was no longer hidden from Hager and her sister, and at times, she says it was directed right at them.

“My sister and I would be woken up at three in the morning by my mom screaming and we would have to run [into her room] to pull my dad off of her,” Hager said.

Bailee Hager, her sister, Mishayla, and her mom, Beth, at Mishayla’s wedding last October.

Hager, her sister and her mother are not alone. Statistics tell us every nine seconds, a women in the United States is assaulted or beaten.

“Statistically, my sister and I should be in and out of jail,” Hager said. “We should not have our lives together.”

But they beat the odds. Hager is getting prepared to study abroad in Budapest next semester, her sister works as a dental assistant and got married in October to the love of her life, and her mom is about to get re-married.

Holding onto her faith for support and guidance, Hager said that because of her past experiences, she is now has chance to share her testimony and help other people who are experiencing what she went through.

“God was priming us to be his hands and feet when we grow up,” Hager said.

If you or someone you know needs someone to talk to, contact the IU Office for Sexual Violence Prevention and Victim Advocacy or call 9-1-1 for emergencies.