The holidays are a time to celebrate, share delicious meals, and make wonderful memories.
But for some, that isn't the case.
"The holiday turns into a bad memory," said Oralia Jaure.
Jaure is the Sexual Assault Educator for the Family Crisis Center in Harlingen.
She says cases of domestic violence increase during the holidays.
On average, one in seven women are assaulted across the country on a daily basis.
That makes 4,000,000 cases reported each year.
Of those, 50 percent are violence within married couples.
Some 25 percent of those are cases of repeat violence.
The Family Crisis Center sees 16 women daily.
Jaure says that number doubles during the holidays.
"We see more women coming in during this time. And it's not on the actual holiday, it's usually the day after,"said Jaure.
The increase us attributed to extra stress caused by more spending on things like meals and gifts.
Contributing factors include restless children and family get togethers, where alcohol flows freely.
"Victims will come in and say they were celebrating, the drinking started, and the abuser took it out on their family instead if the person who started it," Jaure explains.
But sometimes, it's the last straw for the victims, who finally say enough is enough.
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