When I was leaving Yellowstone National Park, the park ranger asked me what I was doing in Jackson Hole. I explained to him that I was there for the annual domestic violence conference and he said "Do we have that problem here?" I told him, “This problem is everywhere and in reality one in three women will face abuse in one way or another in their lifetime.” I had just learned all this information by attending this event. I began my role as a victim advocate just four days before today. I wasn't aware of the full picture of domestic violence, but I could relate to this phenomenon by being part of this statistic. Many people ask me different questions, but they are all the same: “Does this really happen that often here? Don't we have this problem? Why doesn't she just leave him?" When looking at domestic violence and the plausible causes one might hypothesize that this is not a new phenomenon but rather something that is being talked about again. Domestic violence has been happening since the beginning of time There were laws that stated that women and children were the property of a husband or father and this male could do with them whatever he wanted. Property of another means there are no civil rights to speak of and that is at the mercy of another. This form of ownership is closely related to that of slavery. People have only been educated about equality since the 1970s, when the civil rights movement occurred Domestic violence punishments have only really evolved in the last twenty years. The legal system lags behind in protecting the safety of victims and the public. When convicted of domestic violence, the possible punishment is without means of paper......ng Legislature. Wyoming Legislative Service Office, n.d. Web. April 14, 2014. “Domestic Violence Demographics.” NISVS. NISVS and Web. 14 April 2014. .“History”. The national silent witnesses initiative. Silent Witness, nd Web. 13 April 2014. .NCADV. National Domestic Violence Coalition, n.d. Web. April 14, 2014. "Victim Policy Pipeline" ["Winter 2000"]. The National Center for Victims of Crime. National Center for Victims of Crime, n.d. Web. April 14, 2014. "Worland, Wy." CityData. city ​​data, nd Web. 14 April. 2014. .