It is the time of year when music and color, laughter and promise surround us. Families make plans to gather, travel and celebrate together. Individuals and organizations reflect upon the year and the milestones achieved. Good fortune, personal blessings and abundance are in sharp focus.
Then there is the rest of the community, including those who are wrestling with their safety and their suffering. The needs of their children and the limitations of their circumstances weigh heavily in their hearts. They cling to an abiding hope that this will be a good holiday season, and that next year all their dreams for themselves and their children will come true.
On average in the United States, 24 people per minute are victims of rape, physical violence or stalking by an intimate partner, according to findings just released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That means violence among lovers and spouses is rampant in Hawaii, too.
We must keep these victims in our hearts and in focus even during the holiday season when we may be distracted by all of the excitement around us. And more important, we must take responsibility as a community for the challenges inherent in addressing the complex and life-threatening epidemic we face.
A sustained commitment and investment in domestic violence programs, resources, initiatives and opportunities to do our best is imperative to bring peace to our island families.
The New Year will see significant progress for domestic violence prevention. Act 206 becomes law Jan. 1. This will prohibit discrimination of domestic violence victims by employers, and requires that companies make reasonable accommodations for them. This is very good.
The workplace can be a supportive environment, and provide the necessary income to increase options for victims and their families. In the coming year, the Domestic Violence Action Center will launch DV Action Ready to help employers be prepared to notice and effectively address their employees’ needs at work.
Next year also signals the time for reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), which was first enacted in 1994. VAWA 2011 will build on efforts to prevent violence before it begins and teach the next generation that violence is always wrong.
All the public appearances I make lead to inquiries from audience members about our community’s efforts to teach kids and young people how to avoid abuse.
Frankly, we are doing a dismal job sustaining programs to educate our youth. We will be advocating with our congressional delegation to make sure Hawaii remains part of this significant legislation.
If you have the chance, do something to advance our community’s interests in safe, strong families.
Give money, lend support, give time, suspend judgment, educate yourself, prioritize domestic violence in your hierarchy of important issues to become involved in. Our children will thrive. Our community will be richer. And you will feel fantastic to be a part of the solution.
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Nanci Kreidman is executive director of the Domestic Violence Action Center.
