Domestic Violence Awareness Month
October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month. This observation has its origins in the first Day of Unity, which was observed in October, 1981 by the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence. The intent was to connect battered women’s advocates across the nation who were working to end violence against women and their children.
The Day of Unity soon became a special week with a range of activities were conducted at the local, state, and national levels. The activities were as varied and diverse as the program sponsors, but with common themes: mourning those who have died because of domestic violence, celebrating those who have survived, and connecting those who work to end violence.
In October 1987, the first Domestic Violence Awareness Month was observed, and that same year the first national toll-free hotline was begun. In 1989, the first Domestic Violence Awareness Month Commemorative Legislation was passed by the U.S. Congress, and it has has passed every year since.
Source: National Coalition Against Domestic Violence website.
