Heal, Hold & Center: Domestic Violence Awareness Month 2024

Domestic Violence Awareness Month (DVAM) is a national campaign dedicated to raising awareness about domestic violence. Every October, organizations and individuals unite across the country for a national effort to uplift the needs, voices, and experiences of survivors. Congress declared the month of October to be Domestic Violence Awareness Month in 1989.

For DVAM 2024, the Domestic Violence Awareness Project is proud to build on the theme Heal, Hold & Center, first launched in 2023. This DVAM and beyond, we must work together, embrace the many cultural ways we can heal from violence and oppression, commit to holding space for survivors, and center those most marginalized in all of our efforts to end domestic violence. As we heal, hold, and center survivors, especially those navigating anti-Blackness and other systems of oppression, we remain grounded in the knowledge that there is no survivor justice without racial justice.

Call for Unity: Connective Action for DVAM 2024

This year’s National Call for Unity is an opportunity for “Connective Action” around the DVAM 2024 theme, Heal, Hold & Center. This is an intentional pause and moment of recognition and togetherness for advocates and survivors across the country. Who do you want to celebrate? This #CallforUnity asks each of us to commit to reconnection with those we honor and appreciate in this work to end and heal from domestic violence. Tag an advocate who embodies what it means to Heal, Hold & Center survivors. Post your commitment to connective action for DVAM 2024 on your social media platforms at #CallforUnity throughout the month of October.

Join us across social media platforms at #CallforUnity!

2024 Marketing Materials

Sample Social Media Content

Be sure to follow the National Resource Center on Domestic Violence (@nrcdv) on social media and tag us in your posts!

DVAM 2024 Hashtags:

#HealHoldCenter
#NoSurvivorJusticeWithoutRacialJustice
#DVAM2024
#CallforUnity

Sample posts (leading up to October)

#DVAM2024 is right around the corner! This year, we’re building on the theme #HealHoldCenter. This DVAM and beyond, we must work together to embrace diverse paths to healing from violence + oppression, commit to holding space for survivors, and center those most marginalized in all of our efforts to end DV.
Looking for ways to incorporate the #HealHoldCenter message into your #DVAM2024 efforts this October? Access our reflection guide, campaign imagery, and sample social media posts on the DVAP website: dvawareness.org/HealHoldCenter
This year’s theme for #DVAM is #HealHoldCenter. Learn how you can center healing + racial justice for survivors this October and beyond at dvawareness.org/HealHoldCenter #NoSurvivorJusticeWithoutRacialJustice

Sample posts (throughout October)

October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month. This month and always, we affirm that there is #NoSurvivorJusticeWithoutRacialJustice. Learn how you can take action: dvawareness.org/HealHoldCenter #HealHoldCenter
“We must work together to embrace the many cultural ways we can heal from violence and oppression, hold space for survivors, and center those most marginalized in all of our efforts to end domestic violence.” Read more in the #HealHoldCenter reflection guide: vawnet.org/material/heal-hold-center-reflection-guide
How are you centering healing + racial justice for survivors for #DVAM2024? Share in the comments! #HealHoldCenter #NoSurvivorJusticeWithoutRacialJustice
“Nothing that we do that is worthwhile is done alone.” – Mariame Kaba #DVAM2024 #HealHoldCenter #NoSurvivorJusticeWithoutRacialJustice
“If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor” – Desmond Tutu #DVAM2024 #HealHoldCenter #NoSurvivorJusticeWithoutRacialJustice
“Rarely, if ever, are any of us healed in isolation. Healing is an act of communion.” – bell hooks #DVAM2024 #HealHoldCenter #NoSurvivorJusticeWithoutRacialJustice

Reflection prompts (from the Heal, Hold & Center Reflection Guide)

Throughout #DVAM2024, we’ll be sharing reflection prompts from the #HealHoldCenter guide. Follow along and share your thoughts in the comments! Check out the guide: vawnet.org/material/heal-hold-center-reflection-guide
Reflection prompt: How do your organizations’ values, mission, and/or actions align with #NoSurvivorJusticeWithoutRacialJustice? #DVAM2024 #HealHoldCenter
Reflection prompt: What do your community’s racial justice efforts look like? What barriers have you encountered? #DVAM2024 #HealHoldCenter
Reflection prompt: Who determines what healing looks like and whether it’s happening? #DVAM2024 #HealHoldCenter
Reflection prompt: How do you seeing healing work being connected to prevention work? #DVAM2024 #HealHoldCenter
Reflection prompt: In what ways do you hold space for trauma survivors in your workplace, community, and family? #DVAM2024 #HealHoldCenter
Reflection prompt: Consider your organization’s approach to centering survivors. What are some obstacles you’ve encountered? Solutions? #DVAM2024 #HealHoldCenter