Dating violence targeted during awareness month

Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, in partnership with local businesses and community organizations, will commemorate Domestic Violence Awareness Month throughout the month of October. The Mayor’s domestic violence awareness initiative, S.A.F.E. (Stop Abuse From Existing) is a long-term commitment to reduce domestic violence and teen dating violence in the City’s communities through a variety of linked strategies.
“To experience an act of violence from someone you love and trust is traumatic, and I know personally that the hurt and despair can stay with you forever,” said Mayor Villaraigosa. “October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month and as a survivor of abuse and as Mayor of Los Angeles, I have worked to leverage every resource at my disposal to ensure that no one else has to endure this cycle of violence.”


Next Thursday, the Mayor will show his support for domestic violence victims at a screening of “Telling Amy’s Story,” a film chronicling the domestic abuse of a former Verizon employee who was murdered by her husband. The event is sponsored by Journey of Hope, an organization led by family members of deceased domestic violence victims and Verizon Wireless.

As part of this awareness month, Verizon Wireless and the Los Angeles Police Foundation have launched a “Text to Donate” program. Anyone, regardless of cell phone carrier, can text LAPF5 to 20222 to donate $5, or LAPF10 to donate $10. Proceeds will benefit programs of the Los Angeles Police Department’s domestic violence prevention and intervention programs.
One of the main programs benefited is the City’s Domestic Abuse Response Team (DART). DART is a law enforcement-based crisis response team that pairs civilian advocates with LAPD police officers to respond to reported incidents of domestic violence. For the first time in our City’s history, every LAPD Division has a Lieutenant who is designated as a domestic violence coordinator and is responsible for coordinating domestic violence cases with an advocacy group in that division.
In 2005, the state stopped funding DART, but the City stepped up its commitment and has doubled the program over the last six years. In 2010, the LAPD received 48,042 domestic violence-related calls and reported 20,467 domestic violence-related crimes. Domestic violence crimes decreased by 7% from 2009 to 2010.


Problems of teen violence are targeted by Laurel House, a Montgomery County shelter for domestic violence victims, as a point where violence begins.



Problems caused by teen dating violence are not new but the latest technology seems to exacerbate things, as boyfriends and girlfriends jealously track postings on Facebook, send constant text messages or hack into each others' cell phones to see who they're calling, said Tommie T. L. Wilkins, director of training and education, in a recent interview with The Reporter of Lansdale.


"One in five students who have been in a serious relationship report being hit or slapped or pushed," said Tina Reynolds, a spokeswoman for Laurel House. "Most of the worst incidents happen at school."


Wilkins said that often because teenagers are "new to dating and new to relationships, it's more intense and they feel more possessive. Abusive behavior can look normal to an inexperienced teen.


"Society as a whole is responsible," she said. "When we were teenagers, things impacted on what we did were the family, TV, school. Things are different.


"We are living in a digital age ... It makes it so much easier to stalk people. Electronically, we've leaped ahead. There are things that are happening you couldn't even fathom 10 years ago."


Despite tremendous progress, an average of three women in America die as a result of domestic violence each day. One in four women and one in thirteen men will experience domestic violence in their lifetime. These statistics are even more sobering when we consider that domestic violence often goes unreported."


Laurel House in Montgomery County and the Montgomery County Women's Center with offices in Pottstown are among the places victims can go for help. Both organizations also work to educate, particularly among teens, about the importance of reporting incidents of violence.


With all the advancements of society, we still hurt each other. And sadly, those advancements make it easier.