This is a great Op-Ed post and we agree!
BY CHERYL LEAMAN
October has drawn to a close and unless you were
living in a cave, you were probably keenly aware that it was Breast Cancer
Awareness Month. My email inbox, Facebook newsfeed and mailbox all included
daily notices about events and merchandise.
The
magazines I subscribe to carried touching stories of breast cancer survival,
advertisements for treatment and reconstructive surgery, and statistics about
the number diagnosed and treated as well as those who succumbed to the disease.
Pink-ribbon product endorsements were everywhere — everything from shoe
strings to expensive baubles. Breasts sell, even sick breasts. From Foot Locker
to Estee Lauder, merchandisers for every gamut in between jumped on the
bandwagon and raised an estimated $6 billion for research and awareness
campaigns.
Another women’s health issue also shared the month of October.
Unbeknownst to many, October was also Domestic Violence Awareness Month.
Domestic or intimate partner violence is the “silent killer” of women.
It is a phenomena that most people don’t want to talk about. It’s perceived as
the dirty little secret that happens in our homes behind closed doors.
The media do little to promote domestic violence awareness even though they
are in a unique position to give merit to it by presenting it as a public health
problem. Magazines don’t want to publish articles where women are victims with
black and blue eyes, swollen lips and broken teeth.
Even Congress can’t
move beyond their bipartisan bickering to reauthorize the Violence Against Women
Act and extend coverage to include undocumented immigrants, Native Americans,
and gay/lesbian couples.
A purple ribbon is the symbol of domestic
violence awareness. But there weren’t any slick ads and only a few dubious
product endorsements could be found to promote awareness of a health issue that
the Centers for Disease Control estimates affects almost 1.3 million women
annually.
I am a survivor of domestic violence. I was in a physically
and emotionally abusive relationship. I was threatened with guns, strangled and
isolated from family and friends. My sense of self was destroyed with his
reckless and vicious choice of words.
I also have had several breast
cancer scares that resulted in multiple mammograms, ultrasounds and biopsies. I volunteer my time to organizations that support both causes and
donate money to promote awareness of each issue. But each year, I am perplexed,
frustrated and even saddened by the disparity in attention given to breast
cancer awareness vs. domestic violence awareness.
Our state capital and
county courthouse turned their fountains pink in recognition of breast cancer
awareness. Surely one of these public symbols could’ve recognized the other
killer — the one that in 2011 claimed the lives of 118 Pennsylvania victims.
There were 257,813 reported domestic violence incidents in America in
2011 versus 225,000 new cases of breast cancer. The statistics are similar, the
circumstances just as frightening, but the awareness is sadly at opposite ends
of the spectrum. So while there is nothing wrong with slogans such as
“Save Your Ta-Ta’s,” “Feel Your Boobies” and “Real Men Wear Pink,” likewise we
need to promote “No More,” “Break the Silence, Stop the Violence” and “There is
No Face to Domestic Violence.”
We need to continue to celebrate
breast cancer survivors, but we also need to stop shaming survivors of domestic
violence by ignoring the issue.
October can champion breast cancer
awareness and domestic violence awareness. It is going to take much more than
ribbons, billboards and product endorsements to end the epidemic of domestic
violence.
But I must confess, as a confident, unashamed survivor, I
would like to see just one fountain in Harrisburg’s capital turned purple. I’d
like to watch one local media segment interview survivors who want to share
their story to help remove the stigma that society has placed on us.
I’d
like to see one magazine cover feature the bruised and cut face of a victim with
a headline that calls for an end to this scourge. I’d like our local communities
and celebrities to go the extra mile for organizations that provide services and
outreach to victims. And I’d like our senators and representatives to reach
across the aisle and move Congress to reauthorize the Violence Against Women
Act.
CHERYL LEAMAN of Harrisburg is a domestic violence survivor and former
board member of Domestic Violence Services of Cumberland and Perry Counties
