We’ve all seen the recent National Football League headlines. Ray Rice, Greg Hardy, the Cardinal’s own Jonathan Dwyer. All professional football players. All accused of acts of domestic violence. This October though, domestic violence advocates are trying to turn those negative headlines into a positive.
“Historically we don’t want to talk about domestic violence. And I think for the first time the NFL. and the focus on them is allowing people to talk about domestic violence. I think that’s a very good think because we need to talk about it more as society. One in 4 women will be impacted by domestic violence,” said Maria Garay.
Garay runs the Sojourner Center , an organization that offers shelter to women and children who are victims of domestic violence. Garay says that in honor of Domestic Violence Awareness Month the center is rebranding and relaunching their efforts to combat domestic violence.
The center will focus on reaching out to minority communities, researching the causes of domestic violence, and providing options to families with pets.
“Pets, believe it or not are a big factor in domestic violence. Many women don’t want to leave because they have a pet and they don’t want to leave the animal behind,” said Garay
He said the center also plans on further researching a new trend being seen amongst domestic violence victims–many women are displaying increased signs of concussions and head trauma.
“95% of women who have been impacted by domestic violence report that they have concussions or similar trauma brain injuries. That’s significant and we need to do and know more,” said Gray.
If you or someone you know is a victim of domestic violence call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233