This evening, the Rotary Club of Shady Brook and Villas of Shady Brook Community jointly hosted what all hope will have been just a first in an ongoing awareness campaign surrounding Domestic Abuse and an amazing resource for victims of domestic abuse, A Woman's Place in Doylestown.
Domestic violence is prevalent in every community and affects all people regardless of age, socio-economic status, sexual orientation, gender, race, religion, or nationality. Physical violence is often accompanied by emotionally abusive and controlling behavior as part of a much larger, systematic pattern of dominance and control. Domestic violence can result in physical injury, psychological trauma, and even death. The devastating consequences of domestic violence can cross generations and last a lifetime.
Just a few frightening statistics from the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence indicate;
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On average, a woman in the U.S. is assaulted or beaten every nine seconds.
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An average of 20 people are physically abused by intimate partners every minute.
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One-third of all women have been physically abused and 20% of them by an intimate partner.
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One in seven women have been stalked; causing them to fear they or someone close to them will be harmed or killed.
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Domestic abuse accounts for 15% of all violent crime.
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Domestic violence is most common among women between the ages of 18-24.
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Only 34% of people who are injured by intimate partners receive medical care for their injuries.
When a woman decides to leave an abusive relationship, she often has nowhere to go. This is particularly true of women with limited resources. Lack of affordable housing and long waiting lists for assisted housing means that many women and their children are forced to choose between abuse at home and life on the streets. Tragically, there are more animal shelters in the U.S. than shelters for battered women and their children!
Thanks to the tremendous efforts of Dolly Sokol (both a Rotarian and member of the Shady Brook Community) whose idea sparked this effort, Fred Edelman (a former Community resident, Rotarian and the evening's emcee),
Fran Issadore (Community Board Member),
Steve Daner (Community Activities Chari)
and many other committee members, we were able to bring sixty residents together at the Villas' Clubhouse for an extremely informative presentation by Staff Member Jamie Geddes
and one of the shelter's volunteers, Laura Prifold, about domestic violence as well as a history of and information about A Women's Place, the only domestic violence organization in Bucks County, PA.
In 1976 A Woman's Place was a storefront, drop-in domestic violence counseling center in Sellersville, PA. The following year it was incorporated as a private, community benefit organization. Above that storefront center was A Women's Place's first shelter for women seeking safety from abuse. The first woman seeking safety arrived with her two children at the tiny, one-room shelter apartment on Christmas Eve 1976.
Today, it provides comprehensive free, private, and confidential service, support, education, outreach, and advocacy to victims of domestic violence and their children and the community. We are committed to the empowerment of women and to ending intimate and domestic violence for all.
They maintain a 24-hotline with professionally-trained counsellors for both adults and children and can provide emergency shelter, a safe living environment, legal advocacy and civil right representation for its clients. WIth eight beds, victims of doemstic abuse can stay for up to 60-90 days. A Woman's Place has provided services to some 3,800 people.
It's "How Safe Are You?" check list was also very interesting:
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Have you recently discussed ending your relationship of leaving?
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Have you separated or divorced in the last year?
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Does your partner/spouse have drug or alcohol abuse issues, including prescriptio or illegal drugs?
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Has your partner/spouse ever threatened or attempted suicide and/or have they suffered from depression?
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Does your partner'spouse own or have access to any guns?
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Does your partener/spouse stalk you?
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Does your partner/spouse control your activities (finances, where you go, who you are with, monitor your telephone calls or emails)?
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Is your partner/spouse currently unemployed or on disability?
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Has your partner/spouse ever threatened you or anyone else with a weapon?
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Has your partner/spouse ever been arrested?
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Has your partner/spouse ever been physical with you?
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Have you or anyone else ever filed an Order of Protection or Protection from Abuse Petition against your partner/spouse?
In parallel, Rotarians and members of th Shady Brook commuity provided donations for A Woman's Place of many much-needed, every-day items.
The joint Committee hopes that tonight's program has not only shed light on an often not-talked-about aspect of our society and the devastating effects domestic abuse can have on the victims and children of those victims but may have also stimulated friends and neighbors to consider supporting A Woman's Place's ability to help break the cycle of violence!
It is also already in the planning stages for a fundraiser for A Woman's Place scheduled for this coming Fall.
For more information go to: www.awomansplace.org.