I am a strong advocate of bringing awareness to both of these topics for several reasons. For one, I personally think everyone should be an advocate of something. Secondly, I have had people in my own life that have dealt with these issues and I can guarantee you have met and had a relationship with someone that has struggled with one or both of these issues, whether you realize it or not. Neither topic is easy to talk about but I know from a tough experience my friend dealt with, domestic violence is somewhat taboo. However, if you know me, I'm not one to "look the other way". If I see anyone hurting or in trouble, I'm there in a second. However, there is a way to handle a sensitive situation like this... I recommend calling a hotline to get some information. Check out these shocking statistics from The Mary Kay Foundation:
- 78 percent of domestic violence shelters nationwide (nearly eight out of ten) report an increase in women seeking assistance from abuse.
- 74 percent of survivors stayed with an abusive partner longer because of financial issues.
- 58 percent of shelters reported that the abuse is more violent now than before 2008.
- 87 percent of domestic violence shelters (nearly nine out of ten) expect their overall situationduring the next 12 months will be worse than now, or the same as now, due to the economy.
- 95 percent reported that survivors needed to stay in shelters for longer durations of time.
- Of shelters that were forced to reduce services, 47 percent decreased childcare efforts, which meant that they were not able to help one in four children.
- 86 percent of shelters witnessed negative social effects on children such as bullying or withdrawal.
- 62 percent reported that young women (age 12-24) are requesting help in greater numbers.
- 92 percent of shelters had to end or scale back specific programs and services.
Be sure to check out these MK campaigns that are empowering women today: www.loveisrespect.org
***10% of all purchases this week (10/15-10/20) will go towards the Mary Kay Foundation in support of these causes or you can make a donation at www.marykayfoundation.org***
Later this week I will write more about Breast Cancer Awareness...
