Austin, Texas – The National Domestic Violence Hotline today welcomed October, National Domestic Violence Awareness Month, as a chance for everyone — victims, survivors, advocates, law enforcement, supporters and political leaders — to unite in our work to end abuse.
“We want the public to know The National Domestic Violence Hotline is the only national Hotline in the United States for victims of domestic violence and we are open 24-hours a day, every day for women, men, children and families in danger,” said Katie Ray-Jones, President of the National Domestic Violence Hotline. “We also want to take this opportunity in October to raise awareness about The Hotline and get more people across the country involved in creating change.”
Throughout October, communities across the country will celebrate the tremendous progress victim advocates have made over the years, mourn for those whose lives were taken by domestic violence and connect with one another with a true sense of unity to end domestic violence.
We also want to empower everyone to get involved and help raise awareness about domestic violence. We recognize the power that each one of us has in making a difference for someone. At The Hotline, every call is a chance for healing and change.
This year we’re launching a special DVAM campaign that EVERYONE can be involved in. For 20 days in October, we’ve developed special challenges. We want you to complete these challenges and share your achievement with us. By taking our daily challenges, you’re saying that TODAY you are taking a step towards ending domestic violence.
We will be using a blog and our Facebook/Twitter accounts as we go through this month. Every Friday starting on October 12, we will dedicate our blog to celebrating what our users are doing in their own communities.
One in four women will be the victim of domestic violence at some point in her lifetime, and, on average, three women are killed every day at the hands of a current or former intimate partner.
Please join us and make this October one of powerful change for you and all who work to end domestic violence.
Declare boldly, “I am taking The Hotline DVAM Challenge!” on Facebook or Twitter.
# # #
The National Domestic Violence Hotline
The National Domestic Violence Hotline was established in 1996 as a component of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) passed by Congress. The Hotline is a nonprofit organization that provides crisis intervention, information and referral to victims of domestic violence, perpetrators, friends and families. The Hotline answers a variety of calls and is a resource for domestic violence advocates government officials, law enforcement agencies and the general public.
http://www.thehotline.org/