“Violence is changing’’

Danya O’Malley, the executive director of the P.E.I. Family Violence Prevention Services, has seen a shift in the violence Island women suffer. “Violence is changing,’’ says O’Malley.

“It’s become more subtle, more verbal, more emotional.’’

“It’s not socially acceptable for your wife to go around with visible injuries,’’ she adds. “We know that that is not OK now. People will ask questions in a way that they didn’t used to.’’ O’Malley says Islanders are becoming more comfortable approaching a person that they fear is being abused or in seeking help on a person’s behalf. “We get third party calls all the time on our crisis line,’’ she says. “I think we’re getting to an interesting point in time where people feel compelled to intervene and that’s good.’’