Domestic Violence Awareness Month

A Community Response to Domestic Violence

October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month. There is a strong correlation between intimate partner violence (IPV) and sexual assault—as the majority of women who are physically assaulted by an intimate partner are sexually assaulted by that same partner. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows that 1 in 10 women in the U.S. have been raped by an intimate partner in their lifetime. And between 40 and 45 percent of women with abusive partners will be sexually assaulted by their abuser during the course of their relationship.

According to the Texas Department of Public Safety, in Texas, one in three will experience domestic violence in their lifetime, which can include a range of abuse—economic, physical, sexual, emotional, and psychological, toward children, adults, and elders. And this issue not only affects women, but in fact, one in 71 men have been sexually assaulted, with more than half saying they were assaulted by an intimate partner.

The problems of caring for survivors of domestic violence and intimate partner violence would easily overwhelm one agency.  That is why, in Tarrant County, The Women’s Center collaborates with other local organizations to ensure that survivors receive comprehensive, compassionate care. As a community, it is important that law enforcement, local courts, and social service agencies work in partnership to help keep victims safer, support survivors as they heal from trauma and hold offenders accountable. This helps create a trauma-informed community where survivors feel empowered to disclose their abuse and feel justice is served.

One Safe Place operates a Family Justice Center, where many organizations who serve domestic violence survivors and their families – including the Fort Worth Police Department – are co-located. Survivors, through walk-in or with an appointment, can receive services which include lethality assessment, safety planning and resource connection, short-term counseling and referral to longer term counseling with either co-located agencies or external program partners.

Survivors of intimate partner violence that happened within the past 12 months are often served by SafeHaven, which provides 24-hour emergency shelter, transitional housing with subsidized rent, and counseling for recent survivors of domestic violence and their children. The organization focuses on keeping survivors safe and helping support their immediate needs.

The Women’s Center supports survivors of domestic violence and intimate partner violence in all of our programs by providing longer term individual and group counseling, as well as resource connection to other community organizations. Many of the clients we see in our Employment Program are also survivors of violence, and we provide career coaching services to help them find jobs and achieve financial stability.

Finally, we work closely with local law enforcement agencies and the Tarrant County Criminal District Attorney’s office, who usually have separate units that serve survivors of domestic violence and sexual violence. Our advocates act as a liaison between local law enforcement and survivors during their forensic rape exams. And staff in our Rape Crisis and Victim Services Program often support survivors as they go through the criminal justice process, as well as help them access resources available to victims of crime.

Working together, our goal is to create a compassionate, responsive community where survivors are believed, supported and, ultimately, healed from the devastating effects of violence. And to establish a safer environment where perpetrators are brought to justice.