This week marks the first anniversary of an organization that I fully support and want to share with you. This is in no way a sponsored, or even partnered, post. I truly just want to share this organization with you and hope that you support the cause and participate in some of the social media activities they are hosting throughout the week.
NO MORE is an organization passionate about ending domestic violence and sexual assault. It hopes the blue zero symbol (as in zero incidents of domestic violence) will become the type of symbol that the pink ribbon has become for breast cancer and red ribbon is for HIV/AIDS. This is an important organization to support because it is shedding new light on an under-talked-about issue. We all know someone who is facing this issue, we just might not know that they are. There shouldn't be a stigma for being a victim and we need to stop making excuses for the people who commit these crimes.
Think about these numbers:
- 1 in 3 women and 1 in 4 men experience violence from their partners in their lifetimes.
- 1 in 3 teens experience sexual or physical abuse or threats from a boyfriend or girlfriend in one year.
- 1 in 5 women are survivors of rape.
- 1 in 2 women and 1 in 5 men have experienced some form of sexual victimization in their lives.
- 1 in 4 women and 1 in 6 men were sexually abused before the age of 18.
"These are not numbers. They're our mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, children, co-workers and friends. They're the person you confide in most at work, the guy you play basketball with, the people in your book club, your poker buddy, your teenager's best friend - or your teen, herself. The silence and shame must end for good." - NOMORE.org
I hope you consider checking out the NO MORE campaign throughout this anniversary week and learn about how we all can make a difference and get involved until there really are NO MORE acts of domestic violence and sexual assault.
