Billboards Raise Domestic Violence Awareness
Awareness is a critical component for any cause. But for domestic violence and abuse, a quiet trustworthy hand must be reached out directly to women who are scared and believe they are stuck. Sadly, the women who “break through” only represent a small percentage of all who are hiding behind closed doors.
I found the following article while clicking around, and well, the billboards obviously speak for themselves.
Billboards Raise Domestic Violence Awareness.
Updated: Thursday, 09 Jul 2009, 6:05 PM CDT
Published : Thursday, 09 Jul 2009, 6:05 PM CDT
MEMPHIS, Tenn. – Out in the open billboards saying “no real man hits a woman.”
It’s speaking to a major problem.
Shelby County is 5th in the nation in the number of women who are murdered every year in domestic violence cases.
It wasn’t difficult finding a victim of abuse. We’re not identifying the victim.
“The final breaking point for me was my children weren’t getting any sleep, my daughter was crying.” She says, “She was unhappy seeing my children unhappy but that last straw was when he had a knife and he said he was going to kill me and he was”
In fear, she’s not disclosing her identify but says her ex-boyfriend beat her almost daily.
Domestic abuse is so widespread in Shelby County. Calls come in daily to the YWCA’s domestic violence hotline.
To raise awareness, a group of law enforcement agencies and the DA has an ad blitz underway involving TV radio and billboards.
Advocates to end domestic abuse say the ads are great but more needs to be done.
Elizabeth Shelly, YWCA director of community education says, “We also need to hold batters accountable I mean they’re not going to be scared of the billboard if they’re not scared of the courts.”
Our victim of domestic abuse says the courts and law enforcement failed her in her most crucial time of need.
She says, “You know you can call police several times if they not gonna do nothing they make threats like if we gonna have to come back out there more times somebody going to jail but what if that one time you come and I’m dead or someone else is dead than what.”
If you’re in an abusive relationship, the YWCA has a 24 hour hotline to help you put together an escape plane. The number to the crisis hotline is 725-4277.
