October is National Domestic Violence Awareness Month

October, 2018 National Domestic Violence Awareness Month

By Cheryl Grantano-Rich, Region Chair of Prevention of Violence Against Women and Girls Comm.

 In October, 1987 the first National Domestic Violence Month was observed and the first Domestic Violence hotline started. In 1989 the U.S. Congress passed Public Law 101-112 designating October as National Domestic Violence Month.  This legislation has been passed every year since.

Numerous websites provide statistics relevant to Domestic Violence. The LiveYourDream.org site shares many of these horrific numbers: “ 3 or more women are murdered by husbands or boyfriends every day”;  “Domestic Violence is the 3^rd leading cause of homelessness in families”, etc. The daily news reinforces these numbers for us on a consistent basis.

The National Resource Center on Domestic Violence’s (nrcdv.org) new campaign is the #1Thing: “One person’s action may seem insignificant but together a communities #1 Thing can lead to social transformation”.  For Soroptimist clubs the #1 Thing may be to add or increase the Live Your Dream Awards.  Many of the “applicants and recipients are survivors of violence—domestic abuse, sexual assault, and human trafficking. This unique education program gives women the tools they need to improve their education and career prospects to confidently leave behind abusive situations, seeking a better life for themselves and their families”. Make the Live Your Dream grant program  your #1 Thing.  The deadline for Live Your Dream grant applications is November 15^th.