VAWnet News Blog

By Arlene Vassell, Vice President of Programs, Prevention and Social Change Despite the fear, despair, paranoia and uncertainty our communities are experiencing, there is also an abundance of connectedness, support, courage, hope and gratitude. “Thriving, healing and hurting can all happen simultaneously.” – Arlene Vassell

"During this time of crisis, adapting our work with families impacted by perpetrators’ behaviors is a critical task.  Disasters and crises are associated with a differential impact on vulnerable individuals and families."

As the U.S. fights to contain the spread of the coronavirus, vast numbers of Americans are being told to stay home. But what happens when home isn't safe?

As the coronavirus outbreak reaches pandemic proportions, domestic violence organizations providing training and technical assistance are seeing an increase in requests from community-based shelters across the country for accurate information and guidance on how to plan, prepare, and respond to this emerging public health threat. These select resources offer guidance for domestic violence programs in preparing for and responding to the coronavirus pandemic.

"Being able to scale up the work that we started in small grassroots communities and then the urban communities in Philadelphia -- and rural communities and Alabama, to national and international levels -- is just incredible," she said.

While there have been remarkable gains for girls in education, little headway has been made to help shape a more equal, less violent environment for them, warned the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), together with UN Women and the non-governmental organization Plan International in their report, A New Era for Girls: Taking stock on 25 years of progress.