Domestic Violence Awareness Month—Examining Impacts of DV and IPV on Marginalized Communities

Today's guest hosts are Charlotte Hancock, Communications Director for Generation Progress, and Edwith Theogene, Organizing Director for Generation Progress.
They discuss National Domestic Violence Awareness Month, which is in the month of October.

The month of Domestic Violence Awareness was brought into existence in 1981 by the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence as a day of unity for domestic violence prevention advocates across the country. Since then, the conversation around domestic violence has evolved significantly—between 1993 and 2010, the overall rate of domestic violence dropped nearly two-thirds thanks to the tireless work of activists and advocates to change the conversation around domestic violence and introduce and pass legislation to target perpetrators of domestic violence and abuse. Still, roughly 1 in 4 women and 1 in 9 men have experienced severe intimate partner violence. Domestic violence and intimate partner violence affect people of all races, genders, income levels, and geographic areas—but people from marginalized communities who have experienced domestic violence aren’t often centered in that conversation or given the resources and support they need.

To discuss the work that’s being done in the domestic violence prevention space, and what still needs to happen to make all people safer, Charlotte and Edith are joined today by Mohini Lal, the staff attorney at the National Network to End Domestic Violence, and Kimberly Inez McGuire, the Executive Director of URGE (“Unite for Reproductive & Gender Equity”).

The website for the National Network to End Domestic Violence is www.nrcdv.org and their Twitter handle is @nnedv. Mohini Lal's handle is @moh_in_law. URGE's website is www.URGE.org and their Twitter handle is @URGE_org. Kimberly Inez McGuire's handle is @KimberlyInezMcG.

The website for "Generation Progress" is www.GenProgress.org and their Twitter Handle is @GenProgress. Charlotte Hancock's Twitter handle is @CharlatAnne.