It's October and Pink Is Everywhere - But Where's Purple?

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month and the color pink seems to be everywhere. October is also Domestic Violence Awareness Month and the color purple is conspicuous by its absence.

Over the years, I have written about both causes but looking back, I guess I have written more about Domestic Violence just because there's such a concentration on Breast Cancer Awareness (here, here (both topics), and here.) Just as an example of the disparity, a Google search of "breast cancer awareness month 2016" brings 49.7 million hits in .44 seconds; "domestic violence awareness month 2016" brings 2.7 million hits in .51 seconds.

DomesticViolenceStatistics.org is the source of the following (repeated from my post from 2014):

Every 9 seconds in the US a woman is assaulted or beaten.

Around the world, at least one in every three women has been beaten, coerced into sex or otherwise abused during her lifetime. Most often, the abuser is a member of her own family.

Domestic violence is the leading cause of injury to women—more than car accidents, muggings, and rapes combined.

Studies suggest that up to 10 million children witness some form of domestic violence annually.

Nearly 1 in 5 teenage girls who have been in a relationship said a boyfriend threatened violence or self-harm if presented with a breakup.

Until I did the most recent Google search, about the only references that I had seen anywhere to Domestic Violence Awareness this month were this article and Q&A from the authors of the book When Love Hurts and some Facebook posts from New Hampshire State Representative Suzanne Harvey and the New Hampshire Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual Violence. This is not acceptable to me. I have a second cousin who was killed in a domestic violence "incident." I have multiple friends who have been victims of domestic violence. It is never an easy topic for them to discuss and it is a topic that makes many folks uncomfortable because it is such a personal issue, yet that is precisely why we need to raise the awareness and bring the issue into the light.

When I wrote my post two years ago I was (cautiously) optimistic that domestic violence awareness was coming more to the fore after the Ray Rice incident. In hindsight, I have to say I'm not surprised that the NFL has seemed to do very little to acknowledge domestic violence since then. Disappointed maybe but not surprised. But then again, Roger Goodell has shown his absolute cluelessness in many ways so the idea that Breast Cancer Awareness is front and center for the NFL while Domestic Violence Awareness is nowhere to be found should not be at all surprising to anyone. His ostrich/turtle approach to this issue reflects nothing so much as a hope that people won't look too closely behind the curtain (can we say 'roid rage?' Why yes, yes we can.)

I have no solutions other than continuing to shine the light where it has been dark.

And because I can:

October: Domestic Violence and Breast Cancer Awareness Month

October is a busy month. Schools have settled into the day-to-day routines. The sports world is busy with the MLB Play-offs; NFL, college, and high school football seasons are in the mix; the NHL has started its season; and NBA basketball training camps have started. College basketball has started having "midnight madness." The news and weather shows are providing fall foliage reports.

October is also the "awareness" month for two causes that I support very strongly - Breast Cancer Awareness and Domestic Violence Awareness. In 2009 and again last year (2012), I wrote diaries concentrating on Domestic Violence Awareness. In 2010, I wrote a diary about both issues together.

As I have mentioned, I know why Breast Cancer Awareness is an issue I care deeply about. My sister survived nine years after her initial diagnosis with breast cancer back in 2003. As well, many folks who hang out at Firedoglake know that Jane Hamsher, Marcy Wheeler, and now Christy Hardin Smith have all had their battles with Breast Cancer. Here are a few statistics on Breast Cancer from the American Cancer Society:

Breast cancer is the most common cancer among American women, except for skin cancers. About 1 in 8 (12%) women in the US will develop invasive breast cancer during their lifetime.

The American Cancer Society's estimates for breast cancer in the United States for 2013 are:

1. About 232,340 new cases of invasive breast cancer will be diagnosed in women.
2. About 64,640 new cases of carcinoma in situ (CIS) will be diagnosed (CIS is non-invasive and is the earliest form of breast cancer).
3. About 39,620 women will die from breast cancer

I have had a number of friends over the years tell me about their experiences as victims of Domestic Violence. I would wager most all of us know multiple individuals who have been victims of Domestic Violence though we probably do not know exactly which of our friends and acquaintances these are. Here are some Domestic Violence statistics from SafeHorizon.org and DomesticViolenceStatistics.org.

Very sobering numbers for both of these issues.

This is the opening to an article one of my sister's very best friends wrote for the book A Cup of Comfort for Breast Cancer Survivors:

The first thing my best friend did after her diagnosis was throw herself a party.

Roughly 30 women were there – cops’ wives who’d befriended her during the 10 years she was police reporter for the local daily newspaper, journalist friends, neighbors, her physical therapist, the county attorney, daughters of friends, camping buddies. Some were breast cancer survivors; the rest of us, friends who were now more sharply aware than ever that any day we could join that unwelcome sorority whose numbers now include one of every eight American women.

My friend, Cissy Taylor, had had just one request in advance: bring a scarf or a hat for me. Already anticipating her chemo-induced baldness, she’d asked the women closest to her to join her in preparation. So we did – offering regal turbans, exotically patterned scarves, cozy knit caps, broad-brimmed and flowered hats, each of which she tried on and considered with an expression of combined merriment and gratitude.

And because I can: