GROUNDBREAKING EFFORT LAUNCHES TO INCREASE PRIVATE SECTOR SUPPORT TO END DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AND SEXUAL ASSAULT

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.