VAWnet News Blog

In recognition of Domestic Violence Awareness Month (DVAM) 2021, the Domestic Violence Awareness Project is turning up the heat on last year's call to action: No Survivor Justice Without Racial Justice. This October and beyond, we must center, celebrate, and follow the leadership of Black survivors, leaders, advocates, and frontline workers in our efforts for social transformation. Racial justice is our work.

"Everybody knows that it's happening, everybody knows that it's a problem," said Lasconia, an advocate for the feminist group AF3IRM. "It's been so normalized -- with over 100 years of colonization -- so people feel defeated and don't have the vocabulary to articulate these experiences."

California just became the first state in the U.S. to outlaw "stealthing," a term for the nonconsensual removal of a condom during sex.

"I have to remind myself that I am just a person. I am not a miracle worker. I am doing what I can," one worker said.

"For too long, domestic violence was considered a 'family issue' and was left for families to address in private. During National Domestic Violence Awareness and Prevention Month, we come together to reaffirm our commitment to ending domestic violence and supporting survivors."

"We are socialized to respond to the vulnerability of white women, and it's a truth that is hard for some people to look in the face, and they feel uncomfortable when I say things like that," she says. "But it is true. ... [There's a] stark difference in what it takes to get attention around Black women and girls."