1. Turn your
Facebook profile or
Twitter avatar
PURPLE, and encourage everyone in your social network to do the same, for the entire month. October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month, and
PURPLE is the international color for domestic violence. OR wear a
PURPLE ribbon or something
PURPLE throughout the month of October.
2. Create a
domestic violence awareness forum in your community, at your spiritual/religious institution, at your workplace, or at your school, so that you and others, females and males alike, can talk freely about domestic violence, and ways to end it. If you need literature for your gathering, please visit the
National Domestic Violence Hotline to download great material.
3. Share
my two essays with males in your community, be they nonviolent males or former abusers, since men and boys are more likely to abuse women and girls rather than the other way around: “Ending Violence Against Women and Girls” and “Men Can Stop Domestic Violence.”
Still not convinced, visit this site to get critical statistics about who is most likely to be a victim of domestic violence in America.
4. Contact your
local domestic violence agency or
battered women’s shelter to see if you can volunteer your time. There may be special events where extra hands are needed during October. But you should consider volunteering at any time of year. Domestic violence happens every single day in America.
5. Tweet or retweet a link to an article or blog entry about domestic violence. Use
Facebook, Digg, Linked-In, and other social networking sites to help promote articles about Domestic Violence Awareness Month.
6. If you or someone you know has been the victim of domestic violence,
please encourage them to get help in the form of counseling, support groups, reading material, etc. by calling the
National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-SAFE (7233) or TTY 1-800-787-3224 if you or someone you know needs assistance or guidance immediately.
7. If you are still not clear on
what domestic violence is, please find out here to all the basic information you’ll need to know.
Kevin Powell is the an activist, public speaker, pop culture aficionado and author of the new book “Open Letters to America,” which includes the essay, “Open Letter to An American Woman,” a meditation on the various forms of violence women and girls confront each day, and why women’s leadership matters now more than ever.
