Domestic Violence Awareness Month
During the month of October, we have been exploring our theme of Power & Play in a variety of ways. This week, we are turning our focus to the idea of power - specifically, to empowerment.
Empowerment is the process of becoming stronger and more confident, especially in controlling one's life and claiming one's rights. According to Wikipedia, “Empowerment is a set of measures designed to increase the degree of autonomy and self-determination in people and in communities in order to enable them to represent their interests in a responsible and self-determined way, acting on their own authority”
As we explore the theme of individual, group, and community empowerment, it is very important that we recognize another facet of this month.
October is National Domestic Violence Awareness month. Domestic violence is “the willful intimidation, physical assault, battery, sexual assault, and/or other abusive behavior as part of a systematic pattern of power and control perpetrated by one intimate partner against another. It includes physical violence, sexual violence, psychological violence, and emotional abuse. The frequency and severity of domestic violence can vary dramatically; however, the one constant component of domestic violence is one partner’s consistent efforts to maintain power and control over the other.” (https://ncadv.org/learn-more)
The statistics are both staggering and sobering. Domestic violence affects millions of individuals and can take many forms. While most people tend to think first of physical abuse when hearing the term “domestic violence,” the abuse and violence that can occur can take many different forms, all of which deserve equal attention and protection. And while most people like to think that abuse is the kind of thing that happens to “other people” or “not in my neighborhood,” the truth is, nearly half of all Americans experience some form of violence, whether physical, psychological, or emotional, within their lifetime. This epidemic does not discriminate - it affects individuals of all genders, races, nationalities, economic status, religions, and ages.
And the longer we keep the conversation hidden, the longer we relegate it to the dark corners of “someone else’s problem,” the less likely we are to ever see those numbers decrease. The truth is, the only way to break the cycle is to bring it into the light, to honor those who have experienced violence of any sort, and to provide support for those seeking to provide better for themselves and their families.
The Domestic Violence Center of Chester County (DVCCC) began as a part of the local YWCA’s Women’s Resource Center. As the volume of calls to the center pertaining to situations of violence increased, it became glaringly obvious that there was a need for a resource specifically focused on supporting our community in regards to domestic violence. The mission of the Domestic Violence Center of Chester County is to provide intervention, education, outreach, advocacy, and programs to prevent, reduce, and remedy domestic violence in Chester County. The DVCCC works tirelessly to educate the community, spread awareness of this plight, and to empower survivors of abuse through information, resources, and support as they work to reclaim and rebuild their lives and their futures.
Vibe Vault Fit has partnered with the Domestic Violence Center of Chester County to raise awareness, funds, and support for this very important and pervasive cause. We continue our partnership during this month in a joint effort to help raise awareness and break the cycle of abuse in our community and in the world at large.
At Vibe Vault Fit, we are honored to continue our partnership with this important organization. During this, Domestic Violence Awareness month, we wanted to once again show our support, as a community, for the work that DVCCC continues to do. Please join us tomorrow night (Tuesday, October 20, 2020), as we dedicate our 7:15 PM Vibe Dance Fit to the staff, volunteers, supporters, and board of the DVCCC, as well as to the survivors of domestic violence in our community and around the world. Now and always, we see you, we support you and we will fight to prevent, reduce and remedy all forms of domestic violence.
This high-energy, empowering class will be available FREE on YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/c/VibeVaultFit). To show your support, please consider a donation to the DVCCC, which can be sent via venmo @domesticviolence-center.
Domestic violence systematically undermines the survivor’s sense of self, autonomy, confidence, and perception of the world around them. Through awareness, education, and support, made possible by your generous donations, we can work together to empower every individual to reclaim their lives and step into their own power.
