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: 

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.

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.

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.