WASHINGTON COMMEMORATES DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AWARENESS MONTH

             HARRISBURG, October 16 – State Sen. LeAnna Washington (D-Philadelphia/Montgomery) today raised awareness about the scourge of domestic violence on women and children during a Domestic Violence Awareness Rally at the Capitol Rotunda in Harrisburg.

            “This rally gives us an opportunity to renew our commitment to victims of domestic violence and their families,” Washington said. “We must continue to fight to end this form of violence.”

            The rally coincides with yesterday’s unanimous approval in the Senate of a resolution designating the month of October 2007 as Domestic Violence Awareness Month in Pennsylvania.

            According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, a woman is beaten every 15 seconds. Approximately 1,800 murders nationally are attributed to domestic violence each year.

            About 80,000 Pennsylvanians each year are victims of domestic violence.

            A survivor of domestic violence, Washington personally knows the struggles of battered women.

            “When I was a battered woman some 35 years ago, I was not aware of the services out there for me. I left but I didn’t know exactly where I was going,” Washington said. “The only thing I knew is that I had to get out. I left and I never went back.”

            Thankfully, women suffering violence today can turn to the Pennsylvania Coalition Against Domestic Violence, which has served more than 100,000 women, men and children each year in every county in Pennsylvania.