BY SARAH STEPHENS
ELMORE/AUTAUGA NEWS
Representatives of the Family Sunshine Center visited the Millbrook City Council Tuesday and received a proclamation from Millbrook Mayor Al Kelley concerning Domestic Violence Awareness Month.
Stephen Holdren and Jenney Brantley were the representatives of the Montgomery organization that offers services and shelter to victims of abuse in our area.
October is Domestic Violence Awareness month, and the proclamation was to promote a better understanding of domestic violence and its impact on communities.
Domestic violence is a serious violent crime that includes any combination of physical, verbal, financial, emotional, technological abuse and/or control even if the abuser never includes physical violence. The effects on victims can be severe.
“For far too long, domestic violence was ignored or treated as a private matter where victims were left to suffer in silence without hope of intervention, afraid to seek help or know where to turn,” the proclamation reads.
“The traumatic effects of domestic violence also impact family members and entire communities, with children often witnessing the violence or becoming victims themselves.
“Despite considerable progress in reducing domestic violence, 37.5 percent of Alabama women and 29.5 percent of Alabama men will experience intimate partner physical violence, intimate partner sexual violence and/or intimate partner stalking in their lifetimes.
“While women between the ages of 16 and 24 are among the most vulnerable to intimate partner violence, domestic violence affects people regardless of age, gender, sexual orientation, race, or religion.”
The theme of this year’s campaign is #WHYICARE and asks that we make a commitment to ourselves, our community, and society at large to learn about domestic violence so we can feel confident in our ability to respond with compassion, interrupt acts of aggression and abuse and make a difference in a victim’s life.
For more information about the Family Sunshine Center, visit their website at familysunshine.org
If you are being abused, help is available. Please reach out to family, friends and law enforcement.
