Domestic Violence Awareness Month
Each October we honor Domestic Violence Awareness Month with a variety of events. Events we promote are listed below. We hope you can join us to learn more about intimate partner violence and our potential as a community to end it.
2010 Awareness Events
The Clothesline Project
A survivor of domestic violence is someone who has endured intimate partner violence such as sexual, physical, emotional, and/or financial abuse. A victim is someone who has lost his/her life at the mercy of their abuser. For almost 50 years the Clothesline Project has honored survivors and victims of domestic violence. The shirts, in this visual display, speak volumes to the diversity and deep impact that domestic violence has on individuals, families and communities. With this display, Doorways is publicly honoring and supporting victims and survivors of domestic violence.
T-Shirt Display Locations
- Gunston Community Center:2700 S. Lang Street, Arlington, VA 22206
- Reinsch Library:2807 North Glebe Road, Arlington, VA 22207-4224
- Thomas Jefferson Community Center:3501 2nd Street S., Arlington, VA 22204
Documentaries and Discussion
Join us at the Arlington Central Library on a Sunday in October for these powerful films and a discussion.
Sunday, October 3rd 2pm-4pm : Telling Amy’s Story
Hosted by actress and activist Mariska Hargitay, and told by detective Deirdri Fishel, Telling Amy’s Story follows the timeline of a domestic violence homicide that occurred on November 8, 2001. Amy’s parents and co-workers, law enforcement officers, and court personnel share their perspectives on what happened to Amy in the weeks, months, and years leading up to her death. While we will never be able to change the ending to Amy’s story, we hope that its telling can change outcomes for the millions of victims, survivors, and loved ones affected by domestic violence every day.
Sunday, October 10th 2pm-4pm: Sin By Silence
Inside the California Institution for Women, the first inmate initiated and led group in U.S. prison history, shatters the misconceptions of domestic violence. Convicted Women Against Abuse (CWAA) was created in 1989 to help women inside prison break the silence about abuse and learn more about what they needed to do to help others stop the cycle of violence. Instead of fighting a system that does not fully comprehend the complexities of abuse, the women of CWAA led an initiative to help educate the system. Through careful orchestration of letter writing campaigns, media coverage, and senate hearings a movement was born and laws for battered women were changed. And for the founder of CWAA, the flicker of hope begins to grow as her possible freedom, after 26 years in prison, lies moments away.
Sunday, October 17th 2pm-4pm: My Girlfriend Did It
One in four women will experience Intimate Partner Violence (IVP) in their lifetime regardless of sexual orientation, race, socio-economic status, age or educational background. In response to this reality, Casa de Esperanza produced My Girlfriend Did It, a documentary film that explores IPV in lesbian relationships by highlighting the struggles and resilience of women who share the impact of violence in their lives.
Information Booths:
Domestic violence affects everyone in the community. Discover what Doorways is doing to educate about and combat domestic violence in Arlington! Learn about volunteer opportunities with Doorways, donate old cell phones to families in need, and pledge to end violence by participating in the HandPrint Project. Stop by, step in, and step up to ending domestic violence in Arlington!
Volunteer Opportunities
Tuesday, October 5th, 6:30–8:00 pm
For the location and to RSVP email Simone at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
Learn how you can volunteer with Doorways for Women and Families and support vulnerable women and families in Arlington! Join us for our Volunteer Information Night where you will receive an overview of Doorways programs and services as well as the different volunteer opportunities available. For more information on our volunteer program, click here.
Ongoing Education and Outreach
The Red Flag Campaign
In an effort to challenge rates of abuse on college campuses, Doorways will re-launch the The
Red Flag Campaign dating violence
awareness poster campaign this October. Participating schools are:
- Marymount University
- Northern Virginia Community College- Alexandria
- Art Institute of Washington
This poster campaign, designed by the Virginia Sexual and Domestic Violence Action Alliance and funded by the Verizon Foundation, will raise awareness about how bystanders can stand-up to the warning signs of dating violence and how to recognize the differences between healthy and unhealthy relationships. Doorways supplements the poster campaign with direct outreach to student groups, on-campus presentations and events. For more information about this campaign, click here.
Community Awareness Campaign with Project PEACE
Doorways for Women and Families is a lead partner with a county initiative, Project PEACE, a coordinated community response to eliminate domestic violence in Arlington and to raise awareness about the issue of domestic violence. We will be promoting our annual community education campaign by way of the “Closer Than You Think” posters. Look for them in your libraries, recreation centers and throughout your neighborhood.
To print a poster for your business, apartment building or church, click here.
General Community and Professional Presentations
Community Education is a vital component of Doorways’ mission fulfilling two important functions: increasing awareness about Doorways and the services we provide, as well as fostering a community that recognizes the signs of unhealthy relationships, domestic and dating violence, and understands the impacts on adults, children and the community. We offer a variety of presentations and outreach tools to the community.
This October, invite a Doorways educator to provide educational presentations to your business, the faith community, or teen and young adult group. Read more about requesting a presentation.
For more information about Domestic Violence, click here.
