The Domestic Violence Awareness Project

The Domestic Violence Awareness Project is a coalition against domestic violence. It was established in 1995 in order to develop new and effective methods of providing support to domestic violenceDomestic Violence Awareness MonthNational Domestic Violence Hotline

This coalition against domestic violence recognizes that partnership and cooperation are essential to providing victims of domestic violence with hope and protection. The Domestic Violence Awareness Project advocates equality and respect in intimate relationships. This domestic violence coalition focuses a great deal of energy on gathering and distributing information related to violence and brutality, as well as abuse prevention. They have developed numerous campaigns in order to increase awareness about the tragic effects of intimate partner abuse.

These campaigns have been created with the hope that they will raise public knowledge about domestic violence in communities and states throughout the country. One of the most popular campaigns that this domestic violence coalition implemented was the purple ribbon campaign. They encourage individuals to display or to wear a purple ribbon in order to show their support for abuse prevention, as well as to honor the memories of the individuals who have been killed due to intimate partner abuse.

This coalition against domestic violence supported the Empty Place at the Table campaign, which was developed after a series of intimate partner murders in Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania. The community and the Women's Resource Center displayed place settings for each victim, which included objects that belonged to the victims, photographs, and news articles related to the murders. This exhibit ensures that these victims are not forgotten, and that their stories educate individuals throughout the country about the irreversible effects of domestic violence

This domestic violence coalition helped to support the Silent Witness Initiative, which was was originally created by a group of female artists in Minnesota. This group of women were deeply troubled by the increasing number of fatalities due to domestic violence. They felt that they had to do something to increase public awareness about this horrific epidemic. They constructed red, life size, wooden female figures which each displayed the name of a women who was killed due to brutality from an intimate partner.

The coalition against domestic violence assisted in turning this into a national initiative, and today each of the fifty states displays silent witnesses. In its short history, this domestic violence coalition has taken a great deal of initiative to increase public awareness about violence and abuse, and to develop effective methods of prevention.