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women are murdered by an intimate partner every
day in America!
4.8 million American women
are physically assaulted every year!
Violence
against women has long been a widespread but little
known epidemic affecting local, national and international
communities alike. But now people like you and
me are speaking out about this serious issue,
and by raising awareness, are helping to stop
violence against women.
To
help states, municipalities, agencies and individuals
further the goals of the Violence Against Women
Act, the US Department of Justice's Office
of Violence Against Women has worked with Congress
and the President and local, state and national
civil society agencies to establish months designated
to raise awareness about the four crimes included
in the bill: January is
Stalking Awareness Month; February
is Dating Violence Awareness & Prevention
Month;
April
is Sexual Assault Awareness Month;
and October
is Domestic Violence Awareness Month.
Domestic
Violence Awareness Month has been observed nationally
for years, but this year we have an opportunity
to raise attention about violence against women
to a whole new level. In 2010, for the first time,
the US Senate adopted a Resolution for Teen Dating
Violence Awareness & Prevention Month, and at
least 27 Governors and over 200 municipalities
in 45 states declared proclamations
and resolutions, providing inspiration and opportunities
for bringing communities together to address this
serious issue. Over 200
proclamations were again declared for April's
Sexual Assault Awareness Month.
With your help, the national campaign for October's
Sexual Assault Awareness Month can bring awareness
about the serious issue of violence against women
to thousands of US communities. Be part of the
1000 Communities Against Violence Against Women
campaign - ask your Mayor or City Council to declare
a proclamation for Domestic Violence Awareness
Month.
I
learned about violence against women the hard
way - my 19 year old daughter Emily was murdered
by her ex-boyfriend on April 9, 2009. Please help
lead the way to ending violence against women
by raising YOUR voice.
There
are many things that YOU
can do to help raise awareness about dating abuse,
domestic violence, and violence against women
in general. Here are some ideas:
1)
Participate in an event in your area during Domestic
Violence Awareness Month: http://dvam.vawnet.org/calendar/index.php
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2)
Write to your Mayor and Governor and ask
them to join other leaders across the nation
in declaring October as Domestic Violence
Awareness Month. In most cases, all it takes
is a school or nonprofit organization to
request it and provide a sample proclamation!
(Please
ask them to send a copy to The EMILY Fund,
PO Box 430, Roosevelt, NJ 08555-0430, or
send a scan to info@emilyfund.org
or fax to: 1-888-247-1291 so that it can
be posted on the Internet to inspire other
communities to do the same.)
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3)
If your town or state has declared a proclamation,
let your local newspaper know about it and why
dating violence awareness and preventing domestic
violence is important.
4)
Wear a purple ribbon (the official color of domestic
violence awareness) or a heart on your sleeve
(print out free designs at the Have
a Heart Campaign
website) or participate in the Purple
Light Nights campaign and shine a purple light
on your porch during October, and when people
ask you about it, let them know why domestic violence
awareness and dating abuse awareness are important
to you.
5)
Create or print out posters about dating abuse
or domestic violence to display at school or around
your community.
6)
Participate in the National Dating Pledge Challenge
to Stop Dating Violence - hand out FREE Dating
Pledge cards.
7)
Get permission to set up a table on campus or
during lunch to hand out Dating Pledge cards and
other educational materials about dating abuse
and dating violence.
8)
Urge your school to establish a Dating
Violence Policy
if there isn't one already in place.
9)
Urge your school to establish a year-round Dating
Violence Awareness education program.
10)
Find out more about the Lindsay
Ann Burke Act requiring schools to provide
dating violence awareness resources to all students.
6 states have already passed bills - has yours?
11)
Participate in a Healthy Relationship Peer Education
Program, or if there isn't one at your school,
work with your school or a local domestic violence
agency to establish one.
12)
Find out more:
*
The National Teen Dating Abuse Helpline:
LoveIsRespect.org
*
MADE: Moms And Dads for Education to Stop Teen
Dating Abuse: Loveisnotabuse.com/made
*
Break The Cycle: BreakTheCycle.org
*
Choose Respect: ChooseRespect.org
*
Dating Abuse Stops Here : DatingAbuseStopsHere.org
*
Give Respect (Family Violence Prevention Fund):
GiveRespect.org
*
Jennifer Ann's Group: JenniferAnn.org
*
Lindsay Ann Burke Memorial Fund: labmf.org
*
Love Is Not Abuse: LoveIsNotAbuse.com
*
National Coalition Against Domestic Violence (List
of State Coalitions): ncadv.org/resources/StateCoalitionList.php
*
National Domestic Violence Hotline: ndvh.org
*
National Online Resource Center on Violence Against
Women: vawnet.org
*
National Resource Center on Domestic Violence:
nrcdv.org
*
National Sexual Violence Resource Center: nsvrc.org
*
Purple Light Nights: purplelightnights.org
*
Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network: rainn.org
Printable PDF Handouts
Sample
Proclamation:
WHEREAS,
domestic violence is a serious crime that affects people of all races, ages, gender,
and income levels; and
WHEREAS,
domestic violence is widespread and affects over 4 million Americans each year;
and
WHEREAS,
one in three Americans have witnessed an incident of domestic violence; and
WHEREAS,
children that grow up in violent homes are believed to be abused and neglected
at a rate higher than the national average; and
WHEREAS,
domestic violence costs the nation billions of dollars annually in medical expenses,
police and court costs, shelters, foster care, sick leave, absenteeism, and non-productivity;
and
WHEREAS,
only a coordinated community effort will put a stop to this heinous crime; and
WHEREAS,
Domestic Violence Awareness Month provides an excellent opportunity for citizens
to learn more about preventing domestic violence and to show support for the numerous
organizations and individuals who provide critical advocacy, services and assistance
to victims;
NOW,
THEREFORE, I, __________ , do hereby proclaim the month of October as DOMESTIC
VIOLENCE AWARENESS MONTH and urge our citizens to work together to eliminate
domestic violence from our community.
Please
send a copy of your Mayor or Governor's proclamation
to
StopDatingViolence.org - The EMILY Fund
PO Box 430, Roosevelt, NJ 08555-0430
or send a scan to:
info@emilyfund.org or Fax to 1-888-247-1291
