Intimate partner violence does not discriminate based on your bank account balance or relationship status. Ask Keke Palmer. Palmer filed for sole custody of her 8-month-old child Leodis this week after her co-parent Darius Jackson reportedly physically abused her. According to the Los Angeles Times, Palmer filed documents outlining a consistent pattern of abuse and terror by Jackson. “Darius trespassed into my home, physically attacked me, knocked me over my couch and pinned me down, and stole my phone after I threatened to call the police,” she declared to the Los Angeles Superior Court. The Center for Disease Control defines intimate partner violence as “abuse or aggression that occurs in a romantic relationship.”
The timing of the alleged abuse coincided with the COVID-19 pandemic, which intensified violence against women and girls, according to the United Nations. Other information in the filing accused Jackson of berating Palmer and destroying her personal property. The filing also confirmed that the former couple had split up. The term “Intimate Partner” refers to current and former spouses and dating partners in the Center for Disease Control’s definition. Their interpersonal issues first courted public attention when Jackson drew ire on social media for publicly criticizing Palmer’s outfit for Usher’s Las Vegas residency. Former Spice Girl Mel B told Cosmopolitan how coercive control impacted her fashion choices during her former marriage to Stephen Belafonte in 2021. “I didn’t even know what color I liked anymore because those choices were taken away from me for so long. And I just accepted it,” said Mel B.
Women facing abuse from intimate partners are often painted as penniless victims without any resources or options.
Scene after scene of them fleeing, while clutching nothing more than a diaper bag and fear, have played out in popular culture. But they’ve excluded the many powerful women, like Palmer, who have suffered as a result of intimate partner violence. This happens to women on stages, courts, and in boardrooms. Dr. Angela Mailis published Smart, Successful & Abused: The Unspoken Problem of Domestic Violence and High-Achieving Women in 2019. “Just as many ‘smart and successful’ women are victims as the stereotype of an ‘un-empowered’ female,” said former Liz Claiborne CEO Jana Kasperkevic in a 2014 piece for The Guardian. Academy award-winner Halle Berry, Grammy award-winning singer-songwriter Kelly Rowland, and former WNBA player and two-time Olympic gold medalist, “Mighty Ruthie” Bolton have each publicly addressed their experiences with intimate partner violence.
Palmer’s situation is another disturbing example of how domestic violence can penetrate even the most prosperous circles. A Journal of Population Economics study published in September found that “women who earn more than their male partners are subject to a 33% increase in partner violence and a 20% increase in emotional abuse compared to mean levels.” Psychologist and executive coach Perpetua Neo explained how powerful women can be inclined to invest time and energy into abusive relationships. “High-performance women tend to be highly conscientious too,” she said in a 2019 interview with INSIDER. “It means they work really hard for their relationship. So they’re likely just to keep giving and giving and giving.
To learn more about intimate partner violence, contact the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 800-799-SAFE (800-799-7233; toll-free).
