One is too many — stop domestic violence

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released an alarming and sobering report in December, following the release of a National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey.
According to the report, one in four women reported having been beaten by an intimate partner, one in five women have been raped or will experience an attempted rape and one in six women have been stalked. One in 71 men have been raped, mostly when they were under the age of 11.
One is too many.
The report affirmed that intimate partner and sexual violence against women remains endemic in the United States. Studies like this are a bold reminder that we have a long way to go to change the social norms that allow intimate partner and sexual violence to endure.
The Idaho Coalition Against Sexual and Domestic Violence is committed to engaging voices to change prevention, intervention and response to domestic violence, dating violence, stalking and sexual assault. In response to the alarming increase in intimate partner fatalities in Idaho this year, the Idaho coalition launched a statewide campaign last October: “One is Too Many: Connect to End Domestic and Sexual Violence.”
In November, the Idaho coalition hosted the Idaho Summit on Sexual Violence where 850 professionals came together to improve prevention and response to sexual violence, which is challenging work in a society that sometimes sanctions sexual violence — in the locker room, at universities, in the workplace and in local bars. The media promotes the objectification and oppression of women and traditional constructs of manhood that create environments where sexual violence is tolerated.
Jacksons Food Stores launched the annual Give the Gift of Peace Dove Campaign in December to raise funds for the prevention of and response to domestic violence. During the holiday season, customers could purchase a paper dove and at the end of the campaign, Jacksons Chief Executive Officer John Jackson matched customers’ contributions dollar for dollar. In two weeks Jacksons Food Stores in Idaho sold 18,382 doves, representing the power of more than 18,000 Idahoans and one extraordinary community partner to create change. Jacksons Food Stores, like those in Vista and Sunrise where more than 1,500 doves were sold, remind us that everyone has the power to create change.
A newspaper reported in December that a woman sought help at a Jacksons Food Store in Nampa with burn injuries after her boyfriend doused her in flammable chemicals and set her on fire. The ongoing and tragic incidents of domestic and sexual violence in our communities underscore how critical it is that we stand together to end domestic and sexual violence.
So connect with people in your life and encourage anyone in an unhealthy or abusive relationship to get help. Contribute personally to end domestic and sexual violence. Give to your local domestic violence program because of what is at stake — our relationships and our communities.
– See more at: file:///Volumes/argonaut$/stories/sections/opinion/stories/2012/Jan/18/one_is_too.html#sthash.19tbXlXB.dpuf

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