Domestic Violence Awareness Month: Change Is Here, Action!

When you always do what you’ve always done, you always get the same results.

Time’s up for doing things as they have been done. Time’s up for statistics to be gathered and reports to be written all the while lives are lost and children are forever changed. Time’s up for those hired to do a job for the victims who look at it as only a job, victims of abuse need and deserve more, they need your passion!

The faith based community in our country should always be looked upon as a safe haven, a place where bodies and souls can come to feel the protection of the Creator, a place where pastors have the ability to advise prudently based on the situation presented to them. Unfortunately, this is not the case in the majority of our churches.

After care of abuse victims is another area lacking in resources. Many involved in the issue of intimate partner violence don’t fully understand the nuances of the perpetrators and the inevitable harm they create. Treatment providers need the latest information about effective intervention, prevention and treatment approaches and a full understanding of how to best treat abuse victims in the aftermath of a dangerous relationship.

Time’s up, and there are now revolutionary procedures all first responders can use to enhance the services provided to victims of intimate partner violence.

The one place a victim should feel comfortable seeking help and advice is the church and all churches should welcome training to learn how to best serve this population of their congregations.

All abuse victims deserve another chance at a fully lived life, without fear or repercussions, without re-victimization, and with a full understanding about how to make that happen.

As we track the deaths from month to month as a result of intimate partner homicide, the late Susan Murphy Milano launched a campaign in 2010 to reach out to pastors, prosecutors, legislators, and all who come in contact with a victim, to begin to use the Evidentiary Abuse Affidavit, an easy procedure that every victim asking for assistance should do.

Below you can read her plea to anyone who wishes to truly make a difference in keeping these victims alive.

What You Can You Do For Me?

If you currently hold a position as a bureau chief, head of the felony division at a district or state’s attorneys office, work for the department of health and human services; are the head of a large communications company i.e. Verizon, AT & T, Sprint, Cellular One, make decisions at Avon, Xerox,MaryKay, Citibank, American Express, Chase Bank; are employed at Harpo Studio’s, MSNBC, WSJ, CNN, Apple Computer, or you are with a major health care organization, university, private foundation or law school, if you are interested in thinking outside the box and to implement effective and life saving change, use the resources available at Document The Abuse.

It took the disappearance of Stacy Peterson from Bolingbrook, Illinois for one young pastor to understand the full scope of what he didn’t know about the issue of intimate partner violence. Neil Schori, pastor of Naperville Christian Church, was thrust into the media lights and asked, “what could you have done?” At the time, he didn’t know.

As quoted from one of his articles, “But now I know. And because I know, I’m responsible. And I’m making a difference in and through my church and in my networking with incredible leaders and advocates in the field of domestic violence.”

It took living through the murder of her father and the example of her mother to inspire Sandra L. Brown to study the neuroscience of violent people, figuring out what makes them tick, and creating approaches to help victims recover from harmful relationships.

The treatment programs, service provider training, and retreats are only a part of the resources available through The Institute for Relational Harm Reduction and Public Pathology Education and it’s many partners.

Through the vision of Susan Murphy Milano and her partners, Document the Abuse was created to house information about the Evidentiary Abuse Affidavit and resources for victims of intimate partner violence. Through the work and dedication of the Community Partners of Document the Abuse, the vision has become a reality, and through this movement more lives will be saved.

Every abuse victim who created their personal Evidentiary Abuse Affidavit is still alive despite the risk involved in leaving their violent relationship.