As part of NO MORE week, on March 18, 2014 I was privileged to attend a first of it's kind meeting at the White House: a roundtable of business leaders and advocates called upon to discuss building public-private partnerships aimed at helping end domestic violence and sexual assault in the United States. The meeting served as an opportunity to share strategies and concrete steps companies can take to address violence in their workplaces and communities.
During the gathering, we heard from several companies
that are working to improve the status quo, including Avon, Macy’s, Allstate,
Viacom, and Kaiser Permanente.
The outcome? Major corporations
joined forces to pledge millions of dollars in new commitments to
help end domestic violence and sexual assault as part of a groundbreaking effort
to increase private sector support of these urgent issues. For several of the
corporations this is their first, significant and public endeavor to support
domestic violence and sexual assault awareness, two issues that many
corporations have historically shied away from tackling.
The corporate commitments
announced this week to address domestic violence and sexual assault include:
- Allstate
Foundation: Announced a 50
percent increase in funding for financial empowerment services benefitting
domestic violence survivors.
- Avon Foundation
for Women: Announced three
grants to create and disseminate three targeted prevention and
intervention training tools to help bystanders – families, friends and
strangers – recognize, respond and make appropriate referrals in
situations when partner violence, dating abuse or sexual assault are
suspected or observed.
- Finn Partners: Committed to provide pro bono communications
and public relations counsel for the NO MORE symbol and movement.
- GUESS?, Inc. /
GUESS Foundation: Announced an
investment to support the roll-out of Peace Over Violence’s annual sexual
violence awareness campaign, Denim Day. The commitment includes a donation
of $100,000, the participation of more than 400 stores under the GUESS?
Inc. umbrella including messaging in storefront windows, online and mobile
marketing, and print PSA’s in Vanity Fair, Marie Claire, Teen Vogue and
Lucky magazines.
- Jazz
Pharmaceuticals: Announced a
donation to the NO MORE public awareness effort to end domestic violence
and sexual assault.
- Mary Kay: Committed $1 million to the loveisrespect
text for help service that provides young people with resources and
support to have healthy dating relationships,
as well as $100,000 to support Break the Cycle’s, “NO MORE Silence: It’s
Time To Talk Day,” a nationwide parent-child engagement campaign to
prevent teen dating violence on Feb. 4, 2014.
- USA Network: Committed to airing a 16-hour “NO MORE
Silence” marathon of Law and Order: Special Victims Unit (SVU) on
April 27, 2014 to commemorate National Sexual Assault Awareness and Prevention
Month. Throughout the marathon, which will be hosted by SVU cast members,
USA Network will air NO MORE PSAs, direct viewers to contact national help
resources and highlight NO MORE on social media.
- Valeant
Pharmaceuticals: Pledged to donate a goal of $1
million from sales of its aesthetic injectable, Obagi, and dermatology
products to support the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence in
serving survivors of domestic violence and educating communities about
this issue. To date Valeant’s support has reached 19,000 women and enabled
NCADV to expand many of its initiatives.
- Verizon Wireless: Committed $75,000 to support Break the
Cycle’s “It’s Time To Talk Day,” which included the creation of a teen
dating violence prevention PSA. Additionally, the spot will air across
Verizon’s FiOS platform throughout May 2014.
- Viacom: Announced an
investment to produce and disseminate new, NO MORE PSAs, co-directed by Founder
& President of the Joyful Heart Foundation, Actress Mariska Hargitay and
Executive Vice President of Viacom Velocity Creative Content Solutions, Viacom
Music and Entertainment, Niels Schuurmans. The PSAs will air across a variety
of Viacom's networks.
NO MORE, a unifying
symbol for domestic violence and sexual assault, works to generate support and
resources to help domestic violence and sexual assault prevention organizations.
These organizations are partners of NO MORE:
- 1in6, Inc.
- Corporate Alliance to End Partner Violence
- National Sexual Violence Resource Center
- National Coalition Against Domestic Violence
- Safe Horizon
- National Domestic Violence Hotline
- National Resource Center on Domestic Violence
- Sisters of Color Ending Sexual Assault
- A CALL TO MEN
- U.S. Department of Justice Office on Violence Against Women
- California Coalition Against Sexual Assault
- National Network to End Domestic Violence
- National Sexual Assault Coalition Resource Sharing Project
- Futures Without Violence
- Joe Torre Safe at Home Foundation
- Joyful Heart Foundation
- Casa de Esperanza
- Break the Cycle
- Men Can Stop Rape
- National Alliance to End Sexual Violence
- Peace Over Violence
- YWCA USA
To learn more about NO MORE visit www.nomore.org. To learn more about the work of the Corporate Alliance to End Partner Violence (CAEPV) and how we help workplaces address domestic violence, visit us at www.caepv.org or on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/CorporateAlliancetoEndPartnerViolence.
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