The Domestic and Sexual Violence Prevention Coalition (DSVPC) and Green House 17 are partnering with local businesses and organizations to raise awareness during National Domestic Violence Awareness Month in October.
Stats
- 1/3 of Lexington’s homicides this year have been related to domestic violence
- On average 24 people per minute are victims of rape, physical violence, or stalking by an intimate partner in the US. That’s more than 1 person every three seconds.
- 1 in 7 women and 1 in 25 men have been injured by an intimate partner.
- Kentucky women experience the highest rate of stalking in the nation.
- 98% of victims also experience financial abuse as a form of control, making it likely victims are reliant upon partners for basic life necessities.
- Only about 47% of domestic violence is reported to the police, meaning that more than half goes unreported.
Peace Pumpkins
From Oct. 4 – 31, purple pumpkins will be displayed in businesses and organizations around Lexington to show that domestic violence can be found everywhere.
Purple is the nationally recognized color for domestic violence awareness and the purple pumpkins are part of a new Peace Pumpkins campaign from GreenHouse17 and DSVPC. “We’ve added a card to each pumpkin that has a QR code linking to a list of local domestic violence resources and services,” said Stephanie Theakston, Coordinator for the DSVPC.
"We've had such great support for our city-wide awareness events and are excited to support survivors and raise awareness about domestic violence in October,” said Ashley Hill, Chair of the DSVPC Outreach and Awareness Committee and Associate Dean of Students and Director of Student Wellbeing at Transylvania University. “By placing these pumpkins around Lexington in many different types of locations, we hope survivors will see how many resources are available and find safety in our city."
The pumpkins were sourced from a local farm and painted purple by students from Transylvania University’s It’s On Us chapter.
DSVPC and GreenHouse17 will be distributing pumpkins in early October, but anyone is welcome to join the campaign by painting and decorating their own purple pumpkin.
DSVPC and GH17 encourage people to take a picture of themselves with the purple pumpkins they find and post the photo on social media using #PeacePumpkins and #LexStopDSV to help spread the word of support and resources even further.
Purple Thursday
DSVPC and GreenHouse17 are also promoting Purple Thursday on Oct. 20, 2022. They are asking individuals and organizations to wear purple on that day to visibly show support for survivors in our community and to encourage conversations about how domestic violence affects our community.
Posting a picture on social media of yourself or your team in purple is another powerful way to share a message of support. Participants are encouraged to include a message about why they are participating in Purple Thursday and to use hashtags #PurpleThursday and #LexStopDSV.
About the Agencies
The Domestic and Sexual Violence Prevention Coalition (DSVPC) is Lexington’s local coordinating council on interpersonal violence. Our mission is to create a culture of safety and empowered stakeholders through advocacy, education, collaboration, and service coordination for communities impacted by interpersonal violence.
GreenHouse17 is an advocacy agency committed to ending intimate partner abuse in families and the community. Our specially trained crisis counselors are available to help people harmed by intimate partner abuse any time of the day, every day of the year. Our main facility is situated on a beautiful 40-acre property in rural Fayette County. From this location and two additional offices we serve 17 counties by providing crisis intervention and stabilization services, including emergency shelter, legal advocacy, children’s safe exchange and visitation, individual and group support, and more.
Anyone who has been or knows someone who has been a victim or survivor of domestic violence can contact GreenHouse17’s 24-hour Crisis Hotline at 1-800-544-2022 or Lexington’s 311 to be connected to other survivor resources.
