Domestic Violence Can Kill

March 29, 2016: Jasdeep Singh of Richmond Hill Ontario does spoken word poetry, and is tackling some difficult subjects.

In this video he monologues a story of a girl in too deep, who is killed by her partner. Despite this specific story being a dual story talking about the illness that is alcoholism as well as domestic violence, alcohol is not always implicated in domestic violence, but either way, whether alcohol is involved or not, it is a problem. Far too many people are scared of leaving a marriage where they are abused, either physically or verbally, and verbal abuse quite often eventually escalates into physical abuse. The lines between alcoholism, other drug use, and spousal abuse are blurred because one can often co-exist with another, or lead to another one way or another.

While Sikh Rehat Maryada does specifically state that no Sikh should use intoxicants, when you dig deeper down to its origins, there is also a statement about not abusing one’s spouse. Either way, with both abuse and addiction being illnesses in and of themselves, how often do alcoholics get treated horribly badly by others around them, whilst the same people turn a blind eye to domestic violence when it happens thinking it’s “not their business to get involved in”?

In all cases, the addicts or abusers should be given what help society can give them. Alcoholics Anonymous/al-anon meetings where available can be a good resource to start with for addictions, and there are shelters for people suffering in domestic violence situations. Seeking help is often a question of googling to find where to call, but as in this story, so often the people stuck in this situation are in denial, and always think “tomorrow will be better.” It’s a vicious cycle that is very hard for many to break.

Jasdeep’s poetry is inspired by his understanding of Sikhi with poems on Sikh history and identity, women’s rights, social justice and activism. To keep up to date with his work you can subscribe to his youtube channel and follow him on instagram and twitter @jasdeepsinghrh