10 Things You Can Do About Domestic Violence

As we begin October as Domestic Violence Awareness Month, people have been asking me "What can I do about domestic violence? Is there something I can do to help?" Here is a short list of ideas. Certainly you can add your ideas or additions at the end:

1)  Join the Love Is Not Abuse Coalition and get involved in a growing, national grassroots movement of parents, teachers and ANYONE who cares about getting dating abuse education into every middle school and high school in the country.  Go to http://loveisnotabuse.com/web/guest/who-we-are  to learn more.

2) Find out more about domestic violence. Go to http://www.clicktoempower.org/ and see the stories of survivors and what made the difference for them.

3) Go to http://whatwedid4love.com and support the National Domestic Violence Hotline by purchasing these pieces by Sueanne Shirzay and other artists.

4) Learn about how domestic violence impacts your workplace by visiting http://www.caepv.org/.

5) Remember the National Domestic Violence Hotline Number: 1-800-799-7233 (SAFE) or http://www.thehotline.org/. You can call to help others or yourself.

6) Donate your old cell phone, batteries, or chargers (any brand) at any Verizon Wireless store or use free mailing label http://aboutus.vzw.com/communityservice/Shipping.html.  Learn more about the HopeLine from Verizon program at http://aboutus.vzw.com/communityservice/hopeLine.html

7) Learn to talk to your kids about healthy relationships by downloading tip booklets from http://www.loveisnotabuse.com/.

8) Try to understand what happens in domestic violence and how it impacts people. Check out http://www.domesticviolenceworkplace.blogspot.com/. And comment!

9) Don't ask "Why would that victim go back?" ask "Why would a person hit or abuse someone they love?"

10) Be safe, healthy and happy in your own relationships. Because you matter. And you deserve it. And you are very, very precious.

New Survey Finds 43% Of Dating College Women Have Experienced Abusive Dating Behaviors

CAEPV Member Liz Claiborne Inc has revealed the findings of their recent study of dating abuse among college students. The results? Dating violence and abuse is more prevalent on college campuses than previously believed.

The survey, “Liz Claiborne Inc.’s Love Is Not Abuse 2011 College Dating Violence and Abuse Poll,” was conducted by Knowledge Networks to address the lack of data on dating violence and abuse among college students. Knowledge Networks interviewed 508 college students including 330 women and 178 men for the study.

According to the findings, a significant number of college women are victims of dating violence.

• 43% of dating college women report experiencing abusive dating behaviors including physical, sexual, tech, verbal or controlling abuse.
• Nearly 1 in 3 (29%) college women say they have been in an abusive dating relationship.
• More than half (57%) of college students who report experiencing dating violence said it occurred in college.

The results also show that college students generally do not know how to help their friends, or themselves, get out of abusive relationships.

• 58% of college students say they don’t know how to help someone who is a victim of dating abuse.
• 38% of college students say they don’t know how to get help for themselves if they were a victim of dating violence.

While many of the controlling behaviors overlap between high school and college students, other behaviors are specific to college students. For example, 11% of respondents were prevented from going to study groups, 8% were told whether to live on or off campus and 7% were told exactly which classes to take.

Our friends at  Love Is Respect and Break the Cycle have joined together to college students - and those who care about them - the tools needed to identify college dating abuse and address it.

On the website of Love Is Respect – the National Dating Abuse Helpline they’ve added a brand new section to arm students with knowledge.  You can locate it at http://www.loveisrespect.org/LC_study_pdfs/SafetyPlan_College_Students.pdf

College students - you can download the Liz Claiborne Inc. study, plan your safety, find info for helping a friend and brainstorm ideas to end violence at your school. We encourage you to download and spread these documents around your campus.

Teachers and parents — are you looking for a way to teach dating abuse info to your college students? The Love Is Not Abuse college curriculum is available online, free at www.loveisnotabuse.com/web/guest/curriculum.

Still have questions? You can call Love Is Respect – National Dating Abuse Helpline anytime at 1-866-331-9474.

It's Time to Talk: (un)Healthy Relationships. (un)Recognized.

On Tuesday, October 4, 2011, the Corporate Alliance to End Partner Violence, Radio Bloomington and other community organizations throughout Central Illinois are co-sponsoring "It's Time to Talk Day" to bring awareness to the important issue of domestic violence. This year's theme is: "It's Time to Talk: (un)Healthy Relationships. (un)Recognized."

Events focus on the truth that anyone of any background can find herself or himself in an (un)healthy relationship and it is important that we recognize what an (un)healthy relationship looks like. Statistics show that domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, child abuse, and elder abuse occur in every demographic.

Local CAEPV members and community partners will participate in "It's Time to Talk Day" in the following ways:

·         Local governments, universities, colleges and workplaces will issue proclamations of "It's Time to Talk Day" and encourage citizens to take a moment to talk about domestic violence.

·         A news conference to announce "It's Time to Talk Day" will be held at 12:00 Noon October 4 at Second Presbyterian Church in Downtown Bloomington, Illinois.

·         The 11th Judicial Circuit Family Violence Coordinating Council presents "It's Time to Talk: Compassion Fatigue. (un)Recognized." at Second Presbyterian Church in Downtown Bloomington.

·         The Town of Normal is asking employees and citizens to be a part of the second annual "Purple Tie Initiative" and wear a purple tie (or any item of purple clothing) to support victims and survivors of domestic violence in our community and to raise awareness that domestic violence is "everybody's business."

·         Soroptimist of Bloomington-Normal is hosting a Lunch & Learn training for parents at Lancaster's Fine Dining in Downtown Bloomington.

·         Verizon Wireless Midwest Region and community partners are holding a HopeLine cell phone drive throughout Bloomington-Normal to collect no longer used cell phones, batteries and accessories. The donations will be used to support victims of domestic violence.

Other "It's Time to Talk Day" projects and events include:

·         Distributing educational materials in workplaces

·         Distributing domestic violence awareness brochures to clients

·         Holding seminars for employees

·         Providing information to employees via the Internet and Intranet

·         Writing informational articles for employee newsletters

·         Working with local schools to share the message about safety and wellness

·         Providing Public Service Announcements and radio interviews on Radio Bloomington stations and television interviews on WMBD-TV31 “LIVING WELL” with Meg Marshall

·         AND MORE!

For more information, visit http://www.caepv.org/about/program_detail.php?refID=69 or CAEPV’s Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/CorporateAlliancetoEndPartnerViolence .

For information on Liz Claiborne’s National “It’s Time to Talk Day” taking place December 8, 2011, visit the http://loveisnotabuse.com/web/guest/annualevent .

In Remembrance and in Hope For Peace in Our Homes and Our World:

September 11, 2001 - September 11, 2011

Monsters in the Closet

Our CAEPV partners at The Verizon Foundation have created a short video with support from National Domestic Violence Hotline.  This animated video - “MONSTERS” - sheds light on the effects of domestic violence in the home, through the innocent eyes of a child. 

Studies suggest that up to 10 million children witness some form of domestic violence each year.  And as the video notes, girls who witness abuse are more likely to be abused later in life, and boys are twice as likely to abuse their own partners – “because that’s the world they know.”

The Verizon Foundation believes that to end this devastating cycle of violence, we must motivate silent bystanders to take action.  People need to understand that when they look the other way, they condone this deplorable behavior.  They believe that this provocative video will help accomplish this life-saving goal.

Share the MONSTERS video with your network of friends, family, neighbors and colleagues.  It’s a simple action that may have a huge impact.  MONSTERS will launch publicly on September 7^th.

The video can be previewed at: http://t.co/Dn3pCAq

Remember -- if you or someone you know needs help, get free advice 24x7 at the National Domestic Violence Hotline (800-779-7233) or http://www.thehotline.org/. You don't have to give your name.