Domestic violence awareness month begins

    For that reason, October has been recognized as Domestic Violence Awareness Month. It’s to celebrate the survivors and to remember the victims. Each year, the death rates grow and each year, more families are torn apart by the actions of an abuser. But there is help.
The Battered Women’s Project in Aroostook County is holding a “Flowers on the River” ceremony to mark this year’s event. A candlelight vigil and walk will begin at the Gentle Memorial Building at 6:30 p.m. and conclude at the Gateway Crossing pedestrian bridge in downtown Houlton on Oct. 18. Rain or shine, the public is invited to take part in this vigil and picnic to support a “non-violent future” for everyone.
“We wanted to do something different this year, so we figured we’d have the event at the bridge,” explained Leslie Gervais, coordinator and educator for the Battered Women’s Project. “We wanted to keep it close to the theme so this was ideal.”
The vigil will remember “those who died because of domestic violence, celebrate the hope, strength and courage of survivors and take a stand as a community against the crime of domestic violence.” Also, the Battered Women’s Project will sponsor a library campaign at Cary Library, as well as libraries throughout the county. Books will be displayed about domestic violence, which have been donated by the Maine Coalition to End Domestic Violence and the Battered Women’s Project. Those books include “The Breakable Vow,” “Family and Friends’ Guide to Domestic Violence: How To Listen, Talk and Take Action,” “If I Am Missing or Dead: A Sister’s Story of Love, Murder and Liberation,” and “No More Secrets: Violence in Lesbian Relationships.”
Also being promoted this year is the Project’s “Tails Are Not For Pulling … Tails Are For Wagging” awareness program and the “Hands Are Not For Hitting” project.
“There is a link between animal cruelty and family violence,” said Gervais.
Both of these programs will be held at the Cary Library throughout the month of October. Gervais will also be designing a window display downtown, which will feature the “An Empty Place at the Table” story. Items belonging to victims of domestic violence are displayed.
Earlier this year, Maine lawmakers took steps to protect victims of domestic violence. Two bills were introduced before the Committee on Criminal Justice and Public Safety to create a law that would treat domestic violence as a serious crime.
“An Act to Protect Families and Enhance Public Safety by Making Domestic Violence a Crime” — LD 1627 — would change the current law to create a crime called “Domestic Assault.”
LD 1627 is an instrument that law enforcement and prosecutors can use to send the powerful message to both victims and abusers that domestic violence will not be tolerated in “any form, in any context, in any circumstance.”
The bills would be scheduled for work sessions in the near future. A third bill relating to adequate funding of domestic violence and sexual assault prevention and intervention may be scheduled for a future public hearing as well. It is “An Act to Prevent Violence against Maine Families and to Provide Adequate Intervention in Cases of Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault”  — LD 1224, which is sponsored by Sen. Bill Diamond (D-Cumberland County).
Domestic Violence Awareness Month is an opportunity for the community to become involved in something that has been under a public stigma for decades, and continues to be today. By recognizing and remembering the victims and survivors, the public is standing together to voice their feelings that this behavior can no longer be tolerated, say organizers.
According to statistics supplied by the Battered Women’s Project, more than 20 men, women and children from Aroostook County have been killed as a result of domestic violence since 1975. They are: Elizabeth Johnson, Maxine Beaulieu, Linda Pelletier, Lena Morin, Beverly Forrest, Eleanor Burns, Betty Curliss, Audrey Laferriere, Jennifer Smith, Connie Humphrey, Cote Cousins, Cortina Cousins, Tina Cousins, Leonard Daigle, Christina Gray, Vicki Morgan, Michael MacDonald, Stephen Vance Ketsel, Melissa Mendoza and Bonnie Hayes.
For more information on the Battered Women’s Project contact their Houlton office at 532-4004 or toll-free at 1-800-429-2323.