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Posts tagged with Mayor's Office on Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Archives - Page 3 of 3 - Human Interests

City of Seattle Recognizes October as “Domestic Violence Awareness Month” to Raise Awareness and Support for Victims and Survivors of Abuse

October 2, 2020

The Office of Labor Standards (OLS) and the Human Services Department (HSD) mark the month of October as a time to remember victims and survivors of abuse and exploitation; to raise awareness about violence and its effect on families and communities; and acknowledge and highlight those working to end gender-based violence.  “During the COVID-19 pandemic, we have seen an increase in domestic violence reports, as we have had to separate from our families and friends to stop the spread of this deadly pandemic. While physical distancing can keep communities safe from the virus, it has also kept domestic violence survivors shut in with their offenders,” said Mayor Jenny A. Durkan. “We can still be a lifeline during this unprecedented time, remember to check in on your neighbors who may be suffering abuse in silence. Now more than ever, it’s crucial that we help those who may be suffering by raising our voices and awareness.”

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City of Seattle Proclaims January as “Human Trafficking Awareness Month” to Encourage Public Awareness and Action Against Human Trafficking

January 2, 2020

For Immediate Release Contact: Michael Taylor-Judd, Public Relations Specialist, External Affairs, City of Seattle Human Services Department, 206-256-5225, michael.taylor-judd@seattle.gov Seattle – (January 2, 2020) – Mayor Jenny A. Durkan proclaimed the month of January as “Human Trafficking Awareness Month,” and January 10, 2020 to be “Human Trafficking Awareness Day” to proclaim… [ Keep reading ]

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Talking About Human Trafficking

December 27, 2019

Consider what you’ve been told about Human Trafficking. Consider how it has been portrayed in movies, television, or even some awareness campaigns. Have you seen pictures of slender wrists in handcuffs? Have you seen movies about a middle-class, adolescent female vacationing abroad when she is suddenly taken? Consider how rarely you see discussion of the invisible and coercive forces of poverty, psychological control, and isolation. The majority of trafficking situations involve such non-physical restraints, and as we enter the new year, and January’s observance of Human Trafficking Awareness Month, it is time to talk about that. The Seattle Human Services Department’s Mayor’s Office on Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault (MODVSA) is partnering with the Washington Advisory Committee on Trafficking (WashACT) to host a program and panel discussion including survivors, activists, and representatives from our criminal justice response to help expand the conversation around human trafficking in the City of Seattle. This event will be hosted on January 10th from 8:30am-11:00am in the Bertha Knight Landes room in Seattle City Hall.

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City of Seattle Proclaims October as “Domestic Violence Awareness Month” to Raise Awareness for Victims and Survivors of Abuse

October 15, 2019

Mayor Jenny A. Durkan proclaimed the month of October as “Domestic Violence Awareness Month” to raise public awareness and support for victims and survivors of gender-based violence.The Office of Labor Standards (OLS) and the Human Services Department (HSD) mark this month as a time to remember victims and survivors of abuse and exploitation; to raise awareness of violence and its effect on families and communities; and acknowledge and highlight those working to address ending gender-based violence. Join the City of Seattle in honoring the victims and survivors of domestic violence by wearing purple every Thursday during October. During Domestic Violence Awareness Month, Seattle City Hall lights will be purple, and on Thursday, October 24th City of Seattle staff will be joined by some other cities in the region for #PugetSoundPurpleThursday. Get your colleagues or loved ones together and join us by posting your photos online using the hashtag. For more ideas and action steps that you can take to end domestic violence, visit: https://endgv.org/ or https://wscadv.org/dvam/.

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October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month

October 8, 2019

October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month, and an opportunity to think about our relationships and those of our friends and family. Often, survivors of domestic violence turn to friends and family for help first, so it’s crucial that we know what domestic violence is and how to help others. Domestic… [ Keep reading ]

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ICYMI: Engaging African American Males in Ending Gender-Based Violence (Video)

September 11, 2019

Did you miss last week’s MODVSA-sponsored event, “Engaging African American Males in Ending Gender-Based Violence: Increasing Pathways to Safety, Justice, Reconciliation and Healing” at Seattle City Hall, featuring a panel of speakers including Dr. Oliver Williams, professor at the University of Minnesota with 35 years in the field of domestic violence, and Bettie Williams-Watson, Executive Director of Multi Communities and 33 years in the fields of domestic violence and sexual assault?

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Engaging African American Males in Ending Gender-Based Violence

August 28, 2019

We are excited to co-sponsor an event on September 4, 2019 featuring two incredible experts: Bettie Williams-Watson and Dr. Oliver Williams. They will offer their combined 60+ years of experience and expertise on engaging African American men and boys in ending gender-based violence at the event, co-sponsored by the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office and the Seattle University School of Law. Ms. Williams-Watson and Dr. Williams will speak to the importance of addressing racism, healing trauma that men and boys have themselves experienced, and bringing communities together protect African American women and girls. There are pathways to safety, justice, reconciliation and healing, and the speakers will discuss these issues and help attendees to build upon the expertise that already exists in the community to engage African American men and boys in ending gender-based violence.

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City-Supported Researchers Release Report on Increasing Use of Technology in Domestic Violence

August 1, 2019

I started working as an Advocate supporting survivors of Domestic Violence, Sexual Assault, and Stalking in 2007. In my first year of advocacy, I interacted with survivors whose abusers were using technology against them. This looked like sending intimate images to their workplaces, creating fake Craigslist ads with rape fantasies, or simply just repeated and unwanted contacts via many platforms. When I was approached by Dana Lockhart of SPD’s Victim Support Team in 2016 to start doing more work on this space in our community, not enough had changed. I felt I still wasn’t giving survivors sufficient solutions to what we now call Tech-Enabled Coercive Control (TECC). Dana began organizing the Tech-Enabled Coercive Control (TECC) Working Group; and we partnered with community-agencies, the University of Washington, and other City of Seattle departments to start digging into what we could do.

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