PURPLE!! The Other Color for October
I really get the effort and enthusiasm behind the “pink” ribbon we see all through the month of October. I’m a breast cancer survivor myself!! And, it’s all about making certain that women are aware of the 1 in 8 risk we face of developing the disease. Well, there’s another color ribbon that needs attention during October and it’s “purple” and it represents Domestic Violence Awareness Month! The stories and statistics are staggering. The abuse includes not only physical, but mental and emotional as well. It is not prejudiced nor discriminatory to race, age, socio-economic status, education status, religion, family or geographic location. And, men are victims too!!
I followed this story with a knot in my stomach 7 years ago. I wonder how many other women have experienced her fate since then.
-She was the more than 1 in 3 expected to be a victim of intimate partner violence in her lifetime. And, that violence is very prevalent on college campuses, usually starting between the ages of 18-24.
-She was one of the 29% of African-American women who are victims and one of the 50% who are leaving the abusive relationship.
-She was Christian.
-She was Educated - A Bachelor’s degree in Business Management and was a College Administrator.
-She was an AKA - Alpha Kappa Alpha.
-She was a mother of two beautiful boys and was raising them in a nice neighborhood.
-She was found bludgeoned to death in her backyard. Her estranged husband killed her with a bat and broke the arm of her teenage son who tried to protect her.
-While she had refused to press charges for previous violence, including domestic strangulation, she did take out a restraining order after he started stalking her and her sons, which he violated. He had previously hidden in her attic, been seen peeping in her house, and hiding behind a fence at a birthday party. The sheriff said that if she had been armed she could have lived.
-She must have believed he wouldn’t hurt her. He too was a professional. having worked as a full-time deputy for the Sheriff’s office and had left that job to begin a career in the field of physical therapy. He was also in anger management classes as part of his probation for allegedly choking her.
-She is now dead. Her boys are motherless. Her estranged husband is charged (and now convicted) with first-degree murder, attempted first-degree murder, violations of protective orders and aggravated burglary with a weapon.
I hope this makes your stomach hurt too. I hope it makes you think real hard about domestic violence. I hope that if you are a victim that you decide right now to change the course of your life and those you love. I hope if someone tells you what is happening to them that you believe them. I hope you reach out to www.nnedv.org or www.ncadv.org or 1-800-799-7233 if you need help. I hope you understand that many who wear the pink ribbon are often silently bearing the burden of the purple one. I hope you add a purple ribbon to your collection this month.
Stop the Violence!! The Other Ribbon in October. It’s Wellness Wednesday Yawl!!
I’m Still Shoutin’ Ova Here!
Donna
#RIPMonicaButlerJohnson #endviolencnow #gethelp #DVAM #purple #domesticviolenceawarenessmonth #breastcancerawarenessmonth #intimatepartnerviolence #cookinupgoodhealth #wellnesswednesday
