“I didn’t know it was a rape. I don’t know what rape looks like.”

This is the comment from a 16-year-old high school boy who witnessed the sexual assault of a female student in Steubenville, Ohio when asked why he didn’t do something to stop it. This comment has not left my mind. It’s very discouraging. After all the “progress” that has been made in working to change the social norms that support violence and the attitudes that allow rape and other sexual violence to persist, clearly we are not there yet! What is wrong with this picture that in a suburban high school in Ohio, not only was a young girl repeatedly raped and assaulted, then videotaped but many students participated and/or witnessed the assault, did nothing, laughed and sent the images virally around the world.

Boys being boys? Bystanders in denial? Witnesses caught like deer in the headlights? Unconscious accomplices? Immaturity combined with entitlement? Of course it reminds me of the Jerry Sandusky case at Penn State where the assistant coach saw “something” in the locker room between Sandusky and a youth and although disturbed by what he saw, he wasn’t sure and he didn’t know what to do and so did nothing to intervene.

So here we are in April, which is Sexual Assault Awareness Month and also Child Abuse Prevention Month. Yesterday, Wednesday, April 24^th was the 14^th annual Denim Day USA, is a sexual violence prevention education campaign dedicated to supporting survivors of all ages, genders, races, ethnicities and nationalities, and preventing rape. Each year we promote wearing jeans with a purpose and invite youth to participate in educational opportunities to debunk the myths that continue to persist. Clearly, there is so much more education to do. We need more bystander education that aims to engage everyone to become aware and alert and to care about this issue for their own well-being and for the well-being of others. There is something to say for “doing the right thing” kind of education. Are there enough courses in schools teaching how important it is to do the right thing and if you are not sure — to find out?

Organizations like Peace Over Violence and 1in6 work on the issue of sexual abuse everyday, not just on Denim Day. Every month is sexual abuse awareness and prevention month for the network of an agencies that provides intervention services, prevention and policy toward the vision of a culture that doesn’t ignore, allow, excuse or condone sexual violence in any form.

Our efforts must persist but we also have to rethink, reframe and perhaps reinvent how we do what we do to have greater impact. We have to find more ways to engage individuals—especially young people, communities, families and all of our institutions in this effort. We have a long way to go. I personally refuse to give up or to abandon this vision. It’s time to organize and engage with one another so that our very culture says NO MORE to sexual violence, domestic abuse and child abuse.

I believe we can get there. Will you believe too?

- By Patti Giggans

Patti Giggans is the Executive Director of Peace Over Violence. Peace Over Violence is dedicated to building healthy relationships, families and communities free from sexual, domestic and interpersonal violence. She is also the Vice-President of the Board of Directors for 1in6.

The mission of 1in6 is to help men who have had unwanted or abusive sexual experiences in childhood live healthier, happier lives.

1in6′s mission also includes serving family members, friends and partners by providing information and support resources on the web and in the community.

Joyful Heart and 1in6 invite you to visit 1in6.org for info, options and hope, and to learn more about our partnership and Engaging Men initiative at men.joyfulheartfoundation.org.

The views expressed above are not necessarily those of the Joyful Heart Foundation or 1in6.

Approximately 1 in 4 women and nearly 1 in 7 men in the United States have experienced severe physical violence by an intimate partner at some point in their lifetimes. On average, 3 women die each day in domestic violence-related deaths in our country. Over 15 million children witness domestic violence each year.

Yet domestic violence remains a largely hidden epidemic. Because we all have a role to play in preventing violence—and because talking about it is one of the first steps to ending it—the Verizon Foundation and CBS Sportscaster James Brown are helping to get the conversation going during a special #YourVoiceCounts Twitter Chat before the Super Bowl on Thursday, January 31 from 4:00 – 5:00 pm ET.

The Verizon Foundation’s Your Voice Counts campaign is all about equipping bystanders—especially men—with tools to start talking about domestic violence and raising awareness in their communities.

During this special one-hour event the Verizon Foundation (@VerizonGiving), James Brown (@JBSportscaster) Joyful Heart (@TheJHF) and Mariska will talk to fans about what they can do to help end domestic violence and promote healthy role modeling and masculinity. In light of recent tragedies in the NFL community, such as the one out of Kansas City, people are talking about domestic violence, and it’s that conversion we hope to elevate and continue.

We’ll also be joined by Your Voice Counts partners and leading advocates from A CALL TO MEN (@LiveRespect) and NO MORE (@NOMOREorg), who will share insight and resources on this critical topic. The chat will give participants an opportunity to talk with NFL insiders, celebrities and advocates about domestic violence and sports, the role men, fathers and coaches and mentors play in prevention and more.

Joining is simple!

Just log on to Twitter (www.twitter.com) on January 31 at 4:00 pm ET. Search for the hashtag #YourVoiceCounts to follow the conversation and add the hashtag to your own tweets to join in.

Don’t miss out on the chance to get involved!

@VerizonGiving and our partners will be re-tweeting your answers and comments. For more information on speaking up against domestic violence, please visit the Verizon Foundation website www.verizonfoundation.org/yourvoicecounts).

This Twitter chat is designed as an open forum for participants to come together, ask questions and share information about how to speak up against domestic violence. For your own safety, we ask that you not disclose any personal or identifying information during our Twitter chat. To read more about protecting your personal information and safety on Twitter, we invite you to visit: support.twitter.com/articles/18368-safety-private-information#.

If you’re in immediate danger or you believe someone else is, please call 911. If you suspect domestic violence (or any other crime) is happening, don’t think of it as a “private matter” or simply “none of your business.” Use your voice to connect someone to life-saving resources like the National Domestic Violence Hotline (1-800-799-7233). Verizon Wireless customers can simply dial #HOPE to be connected to the Hotline

Our friends at the Verizon Foundation recently launched a new campaign called Your Voice Counts. The campaign is helping to break the silence around the issue of domestic violence by equipping bystanders—especially men—with tools to begin speaking up to prevent and end domestic violence.

In an effort to keep the conversation going and to highlight the great work and resources of organizations working to end domestic violence, we’d like to invite you and your network to join the “Your Voice Counts Live Twitter Chat” tomorrow, Thursday, November 15, from 3:00 – 3:30 pm ET.

Hosted by the Verizon Foundation (@VerizonGiving), and Your Voice Counts partners including Joyful Heart (@TheJHF), our Founder and President, Mariska Hargitay (@Mariska), A CALL TO MEN (@LiveRespect), CBS Sportscaster James Brown (@JBSportscaster) and NO MORE (@NOMOREorg), this chat will give participants an opportunity to discuss how and when they can use their voices to end domestic violence, ask questions about prevention and get information.

Joining is simple

Just log on to Twitter (www.twitter.com) on November 15 at 3:00 pm ET. Search for the hashtag #YourVoiceCounts to follow the conversation and add the hashtag to your own tweets to join in the conversation.

Getting involved

@VerizonGiving and the partners will re-tweet your answers and comments. For more information on speaking up against domestic violence, please visit the Verizon Foundation website.

And of course, please follow us on Facebook and Twitter for more updates.

This Twitter chat is designed as an open forum for participants to come together, ask questions and share information about how to speak up against domestic violence. To read about protecting your personal information and safety on Twitter, we invite you to visit: support.twitter.com/articles/18368-safety-private-information#.

If you suspect domestic violence (or any other crime) is happening, don’t think of it as a “private matter” or simply “none of your business.” Use your voice to connect someone to life-saving resources like the National Domestic Violence Hotline (1-800-799-7233). Verizon Wireless customers can simply dial #HOPE to be connected to the Hotline. If you’re in immediate danger or you believe someone else is, please call 911. For more ways to use your voice, visit verizonfoundation.org/yourvoicecounts.

Peace Over Violence is in the midst of holding our third annual Summer Youth Leadership Institute on Violence Prevention. Twenty-five youth are participating in a month-long training learning about the dynamics of relationship and sexual violence and about healthy relationships. These youth are prioritizing violence prevention and learning skills and tools to take with them as they become leaders in their own lives and in their communities.

These middle and high school youth, male and female are devoting their summer free time to collaborating on learning about healthy relationships and violence prevention strategies and connecting the dots to social change and social justice.

A segment of the Youth Leadership Institute this year includes three internship tracks: creating a violence prevention application for smartphones; writing, performing and recording songs about healthy relationships; and developing community and online organizing campaigns focused around healthy relationships.

Last week, these engaged and engaging young people participated in the Start Strong Virtual Conference, a national initiative supported by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and The Blue Shield of California Foundation. Eleven Start Strong sites from around the country connected virtually around the theme of what it means to be an “upstander” as opposed to a “bystander.”

Upstander is the opposite of bystander. A bystander is someone that does not speak up or act when they witness acts of intolerance, disrespect, bullying or violence taking place. They just go about their business. The attitude is, “it’s none of my business.” An upstander is someone who takes action when faced with these acts. It’s not just about an individual standing up, it’s about institutions also. The Penn State child sexual abuse tragedy is an example of an institution led by people that stood by and did nothing to protect children. One of the young men in the youth institute said, “Everybody should learn about how harmful sexual and domestic violence can be.” Another young man talked about how he had heard the phrase “be the change” a few times and really didn’t understand it until he joined the Leadership Institute.  This young football player now says “I really get it now and now I am the change. Change starts and continues with me.”

Unfortunately, we live in a world with way too many bystanders and not enough UPSTANDERS! But while observing these youth leaders in action here in Los Angeles and across the country, I have a strong and hopeful feeling that this is about to change and youth will be leading the way!

–By Patti Giggans

Patti Giggans is the Executive Director of Peace Over Violence. Peace Over Violence is dedicated to building healthy relationships, families and communities free from sexual, domestic and interpersonal violence. She is also the Vice-President of the Board of Directors for 1in6.

The mission of 1in6 is to help men who have had unwanted or abusive sexual experiences in childhood live healthier, happier lives.

1in6′s mission also includes serving family members, friends and partners by providing information and support resources on the web and in the community.

Joyful Heart and 1in6 invite you to visit 1in6.org for info, options and hope, and to learn more about our partnership and Engaging Men initiative at men.joyfulheartfoundation.org.

The views expressed above are not necessarily those of the Joyful Heart Foundation or 1in6.

As you know, April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month. And this year, Joyful Heart partnered with dozens of organizations, community-based programs and government officials to turn towards the issue of sexual assault in New York City with Denim Day.

Denim Day is an award-winning annual sexual violence prevention and education campaign started by our Los Angeles-based partner, Peace Over Violence. It grew out of a 1990s Italian Supreme Court case in which the Court’s decision overturned a rape conviction because the victim wore tight jeans. The judges reasoned the victim’s tight jeans meant that she had to have helped her assailant remove them, implying consent. People all over the world were outraged, and wearing jeans became an international symbol of protest against erroneous and destructive attitudes and myths surrounding sexual assault. Last year, more than 2.6 million people participated in Denim Day throughout the U.S.

This year is New York’s third year participating in Denim Day campaign and Joyful Heart is so proud to have joined the coalition. In addition to activities, workshops and programs happening throughout all five boroughs for youth and adults on Denim Day, we held a press conference on the steps of City Hall yesterday to kick off our coalition’s Denim Day events.

Manhattan Borough President Scott M. Stringer kicks off the Denim Day NYC 2012 Press Conference.

In addition to our Denim Day organizers the New York City Alliance Against Sexual Assault, Manhattan Borough President Scott M. Stringer, the St. Luke’s Roosevelt Crime Victims Treatment Center and Start Strong Bronx, we were joined by advocates, youth government officials and individuals who filled the steps of City Hall to bring the message to New york that there is no excuse and never an invitation to rape.

We’re sharing that message nationally too. Yesterday, Mariska penned an op-ed in the Huffington Post with Denim Day founder Patti Giggans. From their article:

The way our society thinks about rape and receives survivors is not only tragic, it’s dangerous. Fearing that they won’t be believed, survivors are less likely to report their rapes, which means rapists stay out of jail, which means they are free to rape again.

Denim Day is about coming together as a community that has no tolerance for sexual violence, a community that commits its resources—intellectual, financial, emotional—to responding differently to survivors and making their healing a priority.

To read the entire article, click here.

We and our partners are also sharing this message in social media (that would be #denimday, if you’re on Twitter) in hospitals and rape crisis programs, offices, schools and colleges throughout the country. Together, we can change these harmful victim-blaming attitudes about sexual violence. We can change the way we think about, respond to and support survivors of sexual assault.

If you are wearing denim today, please be sure you have registered your support on www.denimdayusa.org. We invite you to submit photos of yourself in your denim to blog@joyfulheartfoundation.org and share what you’re doing for Denim Day in the comments below.

Earlier this month, we on Joyful Heart Foundation’s Healing & Wellness team had the pleasure of traveling to Washington DC to attend the Second World Conference of Women’s Shelters. The historic gathering  brought approximately 1,500 advocates from 96 countries to the United States. The goal was to discuss strategies for helping the one in three women from around the globe that will be affected by gender based violence during their lifetimes. The week was filled with thought-provoking conversations and cross-cultural connections. For me, it was a time of reconnecting with old colleagues and forging new partnerships with advocates from the U.S. to Australia to Africa who are all dedicated to ending violence against all women and girls.

The convening was host to Her Royal Highness Crown Princess Mary of Denmark; Senior Adviser to President Barack Obama and Chair of the White House Council on Women and Girls, Valerie Jarrett; Director of the United States Department of Justice’s Office on Violence Against Women, Susan B. Carbon; United States Ambassador-at-Large for Global Women’s Issues, Ambassador Melanne Verveer and corporate leaders from The Allstate Foundation, Avon and the Avon Foundation for Women the Verizon Foundation; and thousands of advocates from across the world—all there for this one common purpose.

Day 1

I knew we were off to a great start when the inspiring Lavon Morris-Grant took the stage. Lavon shared her story of moving from victim to victor after being shot five times at the hands of her emotionally abusive husband. Lavon not only survived the shooting; she went on to raise three healthy children—all there during the shooting—and is now a national speaker and author. Morris-Grant advised advocates to keep survivors at the center of their work and to encourage women to use the talents they have inside of them to empower themselves. Lavon’s no-nonsense style struck a cord with conference goers and she was one of the few speakers that received a spontaneous standing ovation.

Actress and Avon Foundation Honorary Chairperson Reese Witherspoon also stopped by to present the Avon Communications Awards for Speaking Out about Violence Against Women to four organizations in the various categories:

• The Storytelling Award went to Women’s Aid (UK) for its CUT film campaign. The film, starring Keira Knightley, depicts a woman suffering a brutal assault and asks viewers to help in ending domestic violence.
• YWCA Canada won the Innovation Award for its “Safety Siren” app and campaign. The “Safety Siren” app promotes healthy dating and provides specific ways to help stop violence against women.
• The Break the Silence Award was presented to the Rwanda Women Network for its domestic violence campaign poster, which shows a man physically abusing a woman with witnesses watching the assault. 
• Breakthrough, an organization in India, won the Global Award for Excellence in Communications for its Bell Bajao! (Ring the Bell!)” campaign, which is helping bring domestic violence to a halt with real-life scenarios of neighbors interrupting violence behind closed doors.

Longtime women’s advocate and White House Adviser on Violence Against Women, Lynn Rosenthal, spoke eloquently about President’s Obama’s dedication to ending gender based violence and informed the crowd of some of the historic strides the Obama administration is making to that end.

Day 2

Day two was a historic event for conference goers. We were told that a special guest was dropping in to speak with us but we were not told who it was. There was lots of high drama and intrigue surrounding the “special guest,” and it was not long before secret service men were spotted hovering behind the stage. We began taking bets on who it might be. Joe Biden, Michelle Obama, President Obama?

After about 40 minutes the room erupted in applause as the signer of the 1994 Violence Against Women Act  (VAWA) took the stage.  President Bill Clinton talked about Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s contribution to VAWA, the climate in the country when the act was put into place and the positive impact of educating women and girls. He reminded us that we are a part of a global struggle for peace and referred to our work as “noble and good.” President Clinton also spoke about the root causes of domestic violence —disrespect and inequality—and how we must change these attitudes if we are end violence against all women and girls.

Day 3

On Thursday, we rose at the crack of dawn and headed over to Capital Hill. Our first stop was the Fourth Annual International Women’s Day Breakfast, From One in Three to None in Three: Women and Girls Living Free of Violence, which was hosted by Women Thrive Worldwide. Judy Woodruff, co-anchor of PBS Newshour gave opening remarks at the bi-partisan event and Representatives Ted Poe (R-TX), Jan Schakowsky (D-IL and Sheila Jackson-Lee (D-TX) spoke about their ongoing commitment to end violence against women. Actress and activist Maria Bello, Female Genital Mutilation activist Edna Adan Ismali, Women Thrive Founder and President Ritu Sharma, Executive VP of Catholic Relief Services Sean Callahan and senior VP for World Vision U.S. Kent R. Hill, were among the panel of esteemed speakers.

Bello reported that of the billions of dollars that poured into Haiti after the 2010 earthquake, precious little was earmarked for women’s organizations. It was for that reason that she started WE ADVANCE, a movement to advance the health, safety and well-being of women throughout Haiti.

JHF's VP of Clinical Programs, Sherisa Dahlgren, with Susan Lerner and former first lady of Somaliland Edna Adan. Photography Courtesy of NNEDV.

Former first lady of Somaliland and Founder of the Edna Adan University Hospital, Edna Adan spoke of her work in the violence against women movement. Adan, who donated her U.N. pension to address the serious health problems that endanger the lives of women and children in the Horn of Africa encouraged men to join the movement to end female genital mutilation. All speakers stressed the importance of collaboration, the resounding theme of the conference that we are stronger together than we are apart.

After breakfast, we headed to the Rayburn Building for The Policy Partnership on Communities of Color, where I performed excerpts from my ChoreoDrama, From Ashes to Angel’s Dust: A Journey Through Womanhood in conjunction with Casa De Esperanza, the Women of Color Network, Black Women’s Roundtable and the National Council of Negro Women. Representatives John Conyers, Jr. (D-MI), Bobby Scott (D-VA), Judy Chu (D-CA) and Charles Gonzalez (D-TX) hosted a special congressional briefing entitled Enhancing Culturally Specific Services in the Violence Against Women Act: Addressing the Gaps for Communities of Color.

Day 4

I’ve been to enough conferences to know that the conference isn’t over until someone sings “I Will Survive.” I would argue that this song is the advocates’ national anthem. And on March 1, 2012—at the conference’s closing ceremony—we had the opportunity to sing “I Will Survive” with the queen herself—Gloria Gaynor! You have not heard “I Will Survive” until you have heard 1,500 people from across the globe singing it in perfect unison with Ms. Gaynor. After Ms. Gaynor left the stage many of us stayed to dance the evening away and even engaged in a transcontinental electric slide!

NNEDV Executive Director, Sue Else, promised a week filled with leading international experts in healthcare and public policy, dignitaries and others all engaged in the movement to end violence against women. The conference did not disappoint. It was truly inspiring to be surrounded spend an entire week with thousands of woman and men from all walks of life joining together in the name of ending gender-based violence against women around the world.

As you may have seen from our Facebook or Twitter accounts, some members our national staff have traveled to Honolulu for a series of very exciting events in our westernmost hub. And as you likely know, Hawai‘i is Joyful Heart’s birthplace, so we are all thrilled and honored to be here doing this work.

One of the primary reasons for this trip was to launch the One Strong ‘Ohana campaign (‘ohana is Hawaiian for “family”).

One Strong ‘Ohana (or OSO as we refer to it internally) is the result of nearly three years of planning and coordination. I’ll share a brief recap of how we got to where we are today:

• In 2009, the Hawai‘i Children’s Trust Fund (HCTF) Coalition decided to embark on a statewide public awareness campaign designed to help prevent child abuse and neglect.
• Throughout 2010, Joyful Heart participated as a grantee in a planning cohort that helped shape the vision for what that campaign would look like. During that planning time, we proposed conducting statewide research about the issue to serve as a guide for any efforts and a baseline against which we could track our success.
• Later that year, Joyful Heart was invited by HCTF to be the organization’s non-profit partner for the campaign. Our agency’s scope included conducting research, supporting digital and social media efforts, providing creative development expertise and engaging media and community stakeholders to become a part of the campaign.
• In the spring of 2011, work began on branding and creative development with participation from organizations representing communities from across the state. The campaign theme was determined, a communication plan developed and work began in earnest on the elements of the campaign.
• By July of that year, Joyful Heart had secured strong commitments from our media partners: Hawaii News Now (a local television/news), COX Media Group Honolulu (the owner of four local FM and two local AM radio stations), the Honolulu Star-Advertiser (the largest daily newspaper in the state) and MidWeek (a weekly news magazine with the highest circulation in the state). During that month, we also released the results of our statewide study, “Perceptions of Child Abuse and Neglect in Hawai‘i.”
• Building on the momentum of the research release, we entered last fall focused on honing the creative materials, lining up corporate sponsors (including Jamba Juice, Whole Foods Market and Fun Factory) and preparing for our launch in January of 2012.

And that leads us to earlier this week, when after years of planning, we officially launched the One Strong ‘Ohana campaign!

The Launch

On Tuesday, January 17th, over 100 individuals from all walks of life—non-profits and community organizations, local businesses, media and government officials—gathered for the unveiling of the One Strong ‘Ohana campaign. The Joyful Heart Foundation and our partners at the Hawai‘i Children’s Trust Fund coordinated the effort with the generous support of the Hawai‘i Community Foundation, who hosted the event at their beautiful office in downtown Honolulu.

The press conference-style event commenced with welcoming remarks from Aileen Deese, Program Director of Prevent Child Abuse Hawaii and the Chairperson of the Hawai‘i Children’s Trust Fund’s Advisory Committee. Aileen commented on what a powerful message it was to have representatives from the government in attendance, including Lt. Governor Brian Schatz, Bruce Coppa, Chief of Staff to Governor Neil Abercrombie and the Director of the Department of Health, Loretta Fuddy.

We all know that the safety and wellbeing of our children is a priority in our society. But we also know that instances of child abuse and neglect do occur, and at far more alarming rates than many would imagine. In 2010 alone, there were 4,199 reports of child abuse and neglect throughout the state.

And while most Hawai‘i residents agree that child abuse and neglect are serious issues, all too often, public attention is only turned towards them when the media reports on a tragic child fatality at the hands of a parent or caretaker.

With this in mind, in 2009, the Hawai‘i Children’s Trust Fund Coalition decided to begin the process of producing the first statewide child abuse and neglect—or CAN as we often call it—prevention public awareness campaign.

After Aileen spoke, Lt. Governor Schatz addressed the crowd.

I’d like to start by congratulating all of you on a tremendous achievement.

This is clearly a community effort that has brought together non-profit agencies, individuals, families, advocates, media, local business and government.

As a father of two young children, I’d like to express my thanks to you for your endless passion, dedication and commitment to this campaign, which creates a vision for Hawai‘i as a place where no child experiences abuse or neglect—and where families are supported by a strong and loving network of friends and family.

Child abuse and neglect is a tough issue to address. But I applaud you on your efforts to raise awareness and educate residents using a positive—and strengths-based approach.

The key idea that we are all one ‘ohana—and that we can all make a difference in strengthening families is inspirational and empowering for all of us who are invested in making Hawai‘i a better place for us to raise healthy and happy keiki.

Maile Zambuto, Joyful Heart’s Chief Executive Officer came to the podium to report on JHF’s research efforts that served to inform the campaign process. But first, she introduced a video message from a very special guest participant.

Maile then returned to share details of the report that inspired much of the campaign development process.

 The headlines from our research are that, in terms of community concern, 80% of Hawaii residents think child abuse and neglect is a major problem in society.

We learned that child abuse is prevalent in our community. Nearly 40% of residents know a victim of child abuse and 9% disclosed being victimized themselves.

Around knowledge and perceptions, we found that two thirds of residents say it is difficult to identify the signs of abuse.

Almost half polled believe that children themselves can do things to prevent abuse.

Nearly a third of residents expressed that they were reluctant to get involved because it was “none of their business.”

And we learned that the majority of residents would talk to a colleague, friend or family member about suspected abuse.

The research demonstrates we have a real opportunity with this campaign to educate the public and tap into the value system that is so much a part of our unique culture in Hawai‘i – that “we are all one ‘ohana”.

Maile then passed the mic to Randy Echito, the Executive Director of the Friends of the Children’s Justice Center of Maui and member of the HCTF Advisory Committee, who provided an overview of the campaign and unveiled the creative materials. These materials, produced for TV, radio and print, will allow us to reach nearly all adults in Hawai‘i by the end of the campaign with positive and practical messages about the protective factors that help parents and caregivers support each other to create nurturing homes and communities for children. Take a look at this PSA that will air on TV, thanks to the generous support of Hawaii News Now, throughout the campaign.

Throughout 2011, we worked with our creative team—AIDIA Studios—as well as dozens of grantees and community providers to develop the creative part of the public awareness campaign.  We wanted to make sure it was hopeful, strengths-based and decidedly local. Here’s a look at some of the other campaign elements:

[[Show as slideshow]]

After unveiling the creative, Randy invited Tammy Kubo, Chairperson of the Hawai‘i Children’s Trust Fund Advisory Board, and Kata Issari, Hawai‘i Regional Director for Joyful Heart, up to extend our deepest gratitude to the many individuals and organizations responsible for the development and launch of the campaign. That list includes, but is not limited to:

• The Hawai‘i Children’s Trust Fund Advisory Board and Advisory Committee
• Members of the HCTF Coalition and grantees who participated in planning, research, focus group testing and implementation
• The Hawai‘i Community Foundation
• Bennet Group Strategic Communications
• AIDIA Studo

We’d also like to thank our generous media partners and corporate sponsors for committing their time and resources to the One Strong ‘Ohana campaign:

• Hawaii News Now
• COX Media Group
• Honolulu Star-Advertiser
• Midweek
• Jamba Juice Hawaii
• Whole Foods Market
• Fun Factory

Mahalo to you all for your commitment to Hawai‘i’s keiki (children).

To learn more about the campaign, please visit OneStrongOhana.com. For more on Joyful Heart’s involvement, visit our website here.

On December 8, 2011, more than 80 people will come together to talk about domestic violence and sexual assault at Liz Claiborne Inc.’s eighth annual It’s Time to Talk Day. On that day, thanks to a long-standing partnership with Talk Radio News Service, radio hosts from around the country will travel to Times Square in New York City and use their broadcast platforms to help generate awareness and educate the public about these issues.

What makes this event significant is not the number of years it has run—though this is something we are quite proud of. Rather what distinguishes this day is the breadth of people we reach with messages of prevention, of hope and of healing.

With radio as the medium, we can touch a huge range of individuals and remind them that they are not alone; that there are people out there who care if they are not safe at home…who care if they have been sexually assaulted…who care to teach them and their children what digital dating abuse looks like and how to address it. With the help of these amazing radio hosts—some of whom come back year after year to help share these messages—we can reinforce why it is so important to speak out about these issues, rather than hide them away in dark corners.

The other aspect of It’s Time to Talk Day that makes it unique is the camaraderie that is fostered among the guests who come to be interviewed. Celebrities, business people, advocates, survivors, government officials and law enforcement mingle and meet. Though we do not know the exact numbers, over the years many a partnership has been formed as people snack on chips or sip coffee waiting for their time on the air.

So what can someone do to help on December 8th? Help us bring the domestic violence and sexual assault into the light. Use that day as a catalyst to start conversations about these issues with your friends, family and co-workers. Post a message on Facebook or send a tweet. Certainly there is enough in the news these days to discuss. You don’t have to have all the answers—just opening up a dialogue is valuable. Then you can check out www.joyfulheartfoundation.org or www.loveisnotabuse.com to learn more.

Though it may not seem like it to you, this one little step can go a long way to teaching everyone across the country that one day is not enough…that it’s always time to talk about these issues—at least until there is nothing left to talk about.

Jane Randel is the Director of Liz Claiborne Inc.’s Love Is Not Abuse initiatives, which strive to address partner abuse at its root cause. The company has begun a sustained effort to focus on teen dating abuse and violence. With a teen dating abuse prevention curriculum, hand books and innovative research to help teens, teachers, parents and domestic violence organizations, Liz Claiborne Inc. provides free resources to all members of society—alerting all demographics to the domestic violence epidemic and educating them on what they can do, individually and collectively to curtail abuse. Join in the conversation by visiting www.loveisnotabuse.com.

Last week, our partners at Peace Over Violence (POV) celebrated their many accomplishments and honored those of their community at the 40th Anniversary Humanitarian Awards.

For 40 years, POV has been working to end violence against women, men, youth and children, one on one, one by one. Dedicated to a building healthy relationships, families and communities free from sexual, domestic and interpersonal violence, they have provided necessary crisis and intervention services to those affected by violence and abuse, as well as prevention, education and advocacy programs in the Los Angeles community to create a community free from violence. Just some recent highlights of this work:

Denim Day promotional material.

Demin Day in the USA

POV was the leading force behind Denim Day in the USA, a movement sparked by the story of a young girl who was raped by her driving instructor in Italy while wearing tight jeans. The Italian Supreme Court reasoned the victim’s tight jeans meant that she must have consented. Denim Day was born under the leadership of POV and became a movement across the country to support survivors, debunk myths and misconceptions surrounding sexual violence and tell the painful truth about the pervasive and insidious nature of sexual violence.

Patti Giggans, Executive Director of Peace Over Violence, speaks at a news conference before the LAUSD. Photography courtesy of POV.

Landmark Legislation to Reduce and Prevent Teen Dating Violence

Just last month, Domestic Violence Awareness Month, Peace Over Violence stood with advocates and officials to celebrate a landmark resolution by the Los Angeles Board of Education providing for district coordination of teen dating violence intervention and prevention strategies at all Los Angeles Unified School District schools, the training of school staff, faculty and administrators, as well as prevention education for students and parents/caregivers and ongoing monitoring of teen dating violence incident reports and prevention activities. The legislation is the result of a dedicated partnership between the school district and Peace Over Violence, as well as violence prevention organizations, local schoolteachers, counselors,  administrators and youth leaders.

LAPD Chief Charlie Beck accepts the Public Service Award at POV's 40th Annual Humanitarian Awards.

Advocating to End the Rape Kit Backlog

Since the discovery of over 12,500 untested rape kits in Los Angeles City and County storage facilities, Peace Over Violence has advocated to expedite the testing of the kits and for the rights of survivors to know about the status of their cases and kits. Over the past several years, the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) has listened to the calls of the community, including those from Joyful Heart, and reduced the historic backlog of untested rape kits in their facilities to zero. At POV’s 40th Anniversary Humanitarian Awards, LAPD Chief Charlie Beck, who has championed rape kit reform within the LAPD, was honored with the Public Service Award.

We’re proud to stand with Peace Over Violence as they celebrate 40 years  and honor those in the Los Angeles community who are working toward a better, safer world. Happy 40th birthday, POV!

Be sure to like POV on Facebook to see even more pictures from the 40th Annual Humanitarian Awards.

Patti Giggans, Executive Director of POV (right) with LAPD Chief Charlie Beck (center) and LA Deputy Mayor Wendy Greuel (left) at POV's 40th Annual Humanitarian Awards. Photography courtesy of POV.

Hello Joyful Hearts,

I wanted to share a quick update with all of you on our corporate relations front. On October 27^th, in honor of National Domestic Violence Awareness Month, we were proud to partner with our friends at Bank of America and the Verizon Foundation on a powerful screening of Telling Amy’s Story–the first screening of this film by a major financial corporation.

Myself (second-from-left) and Joyful Heart's CEO Maile Zambuto (center) with event organizers of Bank of America's LEAD group and panelists Melody Brown of the Verizon Foundation, Randi Ingber of Bank of America and Jennifer Decarli of the Brooklyn Family Justice Center.

Bank of America’s internal women’s group called LEAD spearheads initiatives, events and programs that may be particularly relevant to their female employees. With LEAD’s internal support, the event was held at Bank of America’s headquarters in New York City. It drew a crowd of nearly 75 men and women from commercial banking, private banking, retail, risk, compliance, human resources and other lines of business.

When we first began talking to Bank of America about hosting an event to raise awareness of domestic violence, we immediately thought of engaging our partners at Verizon and using Telling Amy’s Story as a platform to ignite discussion. In 2001, Amy Homan McGee, a mother of two, was shot to death by her husband in their home in Pennsylvania. The murder was the final act of violence in a history of cruelty and abuse. Amy was just thirty-three years old.

In 2010, with the help of the Verizon Foundation, Penn State Public Broadcasting created Telling Amy’s Story, a documentary chronicling the events leading up to Amy’s death. We were proud to serve as a partner in this film, with Mariska filming an introduction and Joyful Heart hosting the film’s premiere events in Washington, D.C. and New York City.  And on Thursday night, we were proud to help introduce the film to a new audience in the financial sector.

Following the screening, a panel of experts which included Maile Zambuto of Joyful Heart, Melody Brown of the Verizon Foundation, Randi Ingber of Bank of America and Jennifer Decarli of the Brooklyn Family Justice Center led a Q&A session. The audience’s questions echoed resounding themes: what do we do if we suspect a friend or colleague is in an abusive situation? What are the warning signs? How do we break the cycle of violence in teens? What can men do to prevent domestic violence?

We know that these are all complicated questions, but there are resources and ways to learn more. Here are just a few of them:

National Domestic Violence Hotline: www.ndvh.org; 800-799-SAFE

The National Domestic Violence Hotline creates access by providing 24-hour support through advocacy, safety planning, resources and hope to everyone affected by domestic violence.

Corporate Alliance to End Partner Violence: www.caepv.org

The Corporate Alliance to End Partner Violence is a national nonprofit organization dedicated to reducing the costs and consequences of partner violence at work–and eliminating it altogether.

The HopeLine® from Verizon program: http://aboutus.verizonwireless.com/communityservice/hopeLine.html

HopeLine® from Verizon puts the nation’s most reliable network to work in the community by turning no-longer used cell phones into support for domestic violence victims and survivors.

Liz Clairborne’s Love is Not Abuse Campaign (for teens): www.loveisnotabuse.com

Since 1991 Liz Claiborne Inc. has been working to end domestic violence. Through its Love Is Not Abuse program, the company provides information and tools that men, women, children, teens and corporate executives can use to learn more about the issue and find out how they can help end this epidemic.

A CALL TO MEN: www.ACALLTOMEN.org

The mission of A CALL TO MEN is to galvanize a national movement of men committed to ending violence and discrimination against women and girls.

Telling Amy’s Story was created to serve as a catalyst to bring communities together to talk about domestic violence. If you are interested in holding your own screening of Telling Amy’s Story in your company, school or community, you can request a copy and download a screening event toolkit by visiting the Telling Amy’s Story website here: telling.psu.edu.

Best wishes to all of you,

Joanna