OCTOBER IS NATIONAL DOMESTIC VIOLENCE MONTH: HELP US END THE SILENCE
Nearly 20 people per minute are physically abused by an intimate partner in the United States. Domestic violence permeates all aspects of life. It affects families, friends, relationships, and businesses – taking a physical, mental, and financial toll on victims. In honor of National Domestic Violence Month in October, the City of Dallas is preparing for several events to raise awareness.
Calendar Highlights:
• October 6, 2015: National Night Out
• October 7, 2015: Kick-Off OF City Awareness Campaign
• October 11-18, 2015: Purple Porch Light Week
• October 14, 2015 – “Healthcare Cares About Domestic Violence”
• October 31: Walk to End Domestic Violence (donations for the Family Place accepted)
The City of Dallas Employee Advisory Council is organizing a walk from 9 to 11 a.m. Oct. 31 at William Blair Jr Park to raise awareness and to accept donations of household and canned goods to donate to the Family Place, a shelter for those affected by domestic violence. Registration will be from 8:30 a.m. to 9 a.m., presentation of donations to the family place and the one mile walk will follow.
Participants are also encouraged to stop by the EAC Annual Field Day Harvest Festival event taking place later on that afternoon (Oct. 31) from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at City Hall Plaza.
The Dallas Domestic Violence Task Force will continue the campaign to end domestic violence by “Painting the Town Purple” during October to bring further awareness to this often silent crime. The Task Force is asking you to “Paint Yourselves Purple” in solidarity and to come together as a community to help end domestic violence in Dallas. For you, this may be wearing a purple ribbon on your lapel for the month of October, for others it may be painting one fingernail purple or wearing purple to work.
For your neighborhood, it may be switching out your porch lights to purple bulbs for the month of October or placing purple ribbons on your door wreath. Offices may have their employees wear purple on Fridays, change their storefronts to a purple theme, have purple flowers in their lobbies, or host “lunch and learn” seminars to learn more about domestic violence prevention and resources available to them in their workplace.
Follow the Domestic Violence Task Force on Twitter @DallasDVTF and use the hashtags #BigDEndsDV and #PaintBigDPurple when you post your purple selfies, office group pictures, purple porch lights, or re-post a shocking statistic about domestic violence on your favorite social media site. With your support and engagement, we will end domestic violence in Dallas.
Help us end the silence:
• 1 in 15 children are exposed to intimate partner violence each year, and 90 percent of these children are eyewitnesses to this violence.
• A total of 8 million days per year of paid work is lost by victims of intimate partner violence.
• Between 21-60 percent of victims of intimate partner violence lose their jobs due to the impact of abuse
Show your support for ending domestic violence in Dallas by displaying a purple porch light Oct. 11 through 17.
