Are the Laws and Legislation Enough to Keep Victims and Survivors Safe?
- bassveronica
- Oct 31, 2024
- 3 min read
October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month
October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month. Although I am grateful for the one month that magnifies this epidemic, we can all admit that it is not enough to combat the many lives that continue to be taken due to domestic violence.
My previous statement opens the door for what you will read next.
My son came home from high school the other week and told me that one of his classmates was killed due to Domestic Violence. He advised that it was on the news. I knew exactly what he was talking about because of my habitual tendency to look at one cycle of local and national news. The story caught my attention because of its nature, but because I heard the name of his high school, I was fully immersed in the story. I was heartbroken for this young lady and her family.
Although my kids don't know all of what my Domestic Violence nightmare entailed, they are aware that I am a Survivor. So, of course, he is looking at me with a bit of a gaze because he knows my disdain for Domestic Violence and where I stand on the issue. I asked if he was ok and he said yes shaking his head while exiting the room.
This made me think about Domestic Violence Awareness Month and the fact that the victim was a young girl/lady. Then, my memory began to serve me flashes of my own encounters with intimate partner violence in my teenage years.
While I was blessed to make it on the other side, I still have challenges to date with my abuser (who has never respected nor cared about laws and legislation). But what about the women and girls that didn't, make it to the other side that is?
It Takes A Village!
While we have been introduced to certain laws and legislation that were put in place to serve and protect the victims and survivors of Domestic Violence like the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), hotlines, programs, and countless local and national organizations nationwide, it's just not enough!
Our President Joe Biden (at this present moment to date) has shown tremendous effort in this fight against Domestic Violence Against Women.
Check out the screenshots below from The Proclamation given by President Joe Biden on National Domestic Violence Awareness Prevention Month 2024. (See source for the full proclamation).
She Deserved to Live!
I extend my gratitude to those vested in the fight to STAND AGAINST DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN and all of its counterparts (intimate partner violence: physical abuse, mental abuse, emotional abuse, social abuse, and economic abuse) that are diminishing, sinister, and deadly in nature if endured long enough.
The young lady addressed at the beginning of the blog should still be here! I speak for others alike who have lost their lives, and just like them…
“SHE DESERVED TO LIVE”!
As I continue on my quest for change, I ask the question… Are the Laws and Legislation enough to keep victims and survivors safe?
IS IT ENOUGH or CAN MORE BE DONE?
Take Away
The epidemic of Domestic Violence continues but so does the fight against it. Although there is much more work to do, standing together will strengthen the efforts of those on the quest to eradicate the epidemic of Domestic Violence.
Ecclesiastes 4:9-12
9 Two are better than one,
because they have a good return for their labor:
10 If either of them falls down,
one can help the other up.
But pity anyone who falls
and has no one to help them up.
11 Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm.
But how can one keep warm alone?
12 Though one may be overpowered,
two can defend themselves.
A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.
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