Awareness Blog

Division is a tool of oppression. The remedy is collaboration.

Advocates across social justice movements have long known the power of solidarity. However, often the very institutions that sustain us also perpetuate a system of divisiveness and competition among organizations whose goals and values intersect, and between movements searching for voice and visibility. It takes humility and courage to prioritize collective action over individual agendas, and to step back to make space for others, which are necessary shifts in order to achieve true social transformation.

As we count down the days to Domestic Violence Awareness Month (DVAM), we’re excited to share some new resources and upcoming activities from the Domestic Violence Awareness Project (DVAP), a project of the National Resource Center on Domestic Violence. The DVAP supports and promotes the national, tribal, territorial, state and local advocacy networks in their ongoing education efforts through public awareness campaigns, strategies, materials, resources, capacity-building and TA. The voices, leadership and expertise of those who have experienced violence have informed the DVAP since its inception in 1998. We embrace the idea that Awareness + Action = Social Change. You can be part of the equation! 

This Pride Month marks 50 years since the June 28, 1969 uprising at the Stonewall Inn, when patrons of the New York City gay bar resisted harassment and abuse during a police raid. Although Stonewall was far from the first time that LGBTQ communities fought back against discrimination, it served as catalyzing moment in the struggle for LGBTQ rights. And while we have made significant progress as a society in the decades that have passed since that night at the Stonewall Inn, much work remains...

On May 5th, National Day of Awareness for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women sheds light on the alarming violence committed against Native women and girls [...] Indigenous women are murdered or go missing at a disturbing rate, and nearly half (47.5%) of American Indian/Alaska Native women have experienced contact sexual violence, physical violence, and/or stalking by an intimate partner in their lifetime according to the National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey...

“April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month (SAAM), and in recognition of SAAM 2019, we are uplifting the National Sexual Violence Resource Center’s theme: “I Ask.” The “I Ask” campaign champions the message that asking for consent is a healthy and normal part of everyday interactions...

This year, the National Indigenous Women’s Resource Center (NIWRC) and NRCDV partner to honor the survival and resilience of our Indigenous sisters, grandmothers, mothers, daughters, and aunties, despite enduring generations of forced colonization and genocide. Homicide is a leading cause of death for Native women, and compared to their white counterparts, Native women are five times as likely to have experienced physical violence by a non-Native intimate partner.

NRCDV’s Domestic Violence Awareness Project is carrying our #1Thing message into February as we work to promote healthy relationships, consent, and support for survivors in recognition of Teen Dating Violence Awareness & Prevention Month. Each and every one of us can play a role in preventing relationship violence across the lifespan, promoting gender and racial equity, and creating the world we wish to live in – and that can start with just one thing!

In the coming weeks, some important days remind us of the necessity of examining the issue of gender equity through a human rights lens. From the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women on November 25th to International Human Rights Day on December 10th, the 16 Days of Activism campaign motivates us to take action in our communities to end all forms of gender-based violence around the world. Throughout 16 Days of Activism 2018, let’s work together to dismantle the systems of inequality and oppression that perpetuate gender-based violence.

National Resource Center on Domestic Violence (NRCDV) is devoted to continual learning and education around racial justice as a core element of our gender and social justice work. We refer to this collective journey as our Racial Justice Initiative. For our organization, this means that our staff and board at all levels are dedicated to investing in racial equity and bringing it to the front and center of our work. This November, it also meant that several of my colleagues and I were able to attend the #FacingRace 2018 Conference.

As advocates working with and on behalf of survivors of domestic and sexual violence, we are often in a unique position to see the real impact that laws and policies have on people’s daily lives – on their safety, health, economic security, and well-being. We can notice patterns and gaps in how systems are or are not responding, and by deeply listening to survivors and communities, we can help identify policy solutions that can make a significant positive difference.•

At NRCDV, we’re taking time this Domestic Violence Awareness Month (DVAM) to share the importance of voting and civic engagement and to highlight the connections between how we vote and the policies that impact survivors’ lives.