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No Excuse for Domestic Violence: Prevention at a Crossroads

NCJ Number
180873
Journal
Thru the Lens Dated: 1999 Pages: 12-15
Author(s)
Marissa Ghez; Leni Marin
Date Published
1999
Length
4 pages
Annotation
This article briefly describes various programs throughout the United States that aim at increasing public awareness of domestic violence and ways that people can help prevent it.
Abstract
In the early 1990's, the Family Violence Prevention Fund began to explore ways to strategically inject the politics of outrage back into the domestic violence movement, combining media and community-based activism into an overall approach. A nationwide media and grassroots organizing campaign targets the friends, family, and co-workers of victims of abuse who sanction the violence with their silence and whose actions can help change social norms. A 12-part nationwide radio public service campaign, launched in March 1999, uses public service announcements to start a "private" conversation about abuse within the African-American community. The radio "spots" feature recurring characters who grapple with the issue of domestic violence and how to respond to particular situations. Culturally specific awareness materials, including actions kits, window signs, and posters are available. Innovative efforts designed to generate and communicate a collective sense of indignation about domestic violence are emerging all over the country. This article describes efforts in San Francisco, Texas, and Long Island, New York. Also described are the National Health Initiative on Domestic Violence, the Judicial Education Project, the Child Welfare Project, the National Workplace Resource Center on Domestic Violence, and the Battered Immigrant Women's Rights Project.