GREENE COUNTY — Purple ribbons are hanging around downtown Xenia, Yellow Springs, Fairborn and The Greene Town Center this month for domestic violence awareness.
The ribbons are not only a visible symbol for domestic violence awareness, but they also serve as a way for victims to get help. Each ribbon has an information card attached to it with the Family Violence Prevention Center of Greene County (FVPC) 24-hour crisis hotline numbers: 937-372-4552 or 937-426-2334.
Families and friends of victims adopt the purple ribbon to remember and honor their loved ones who have lost their lives at the hands of a person they once loved and trusted, a FVPC release says.
“In addition to the demonstration of support for victims and advocates, the display of purple ribbons conveys a powerful message that there is no place for violence in the homes, neighborhoods, workplaces, or schools our citizens,” Harmony Thoma, counselor and community relations coordinator, said. “October may be National Domestic Violence Awareness Month, but it is important to remember that domestic violence happens 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year, so be aware of it all the time.”
According to the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, there are more than 20,000 phone calls placed to domestic violence hotlines nationwide per day. One in four women and one in seven men have been victims of severe physical violence by an intimate partner in their lifetime. Women between the ages of 18-24 are most commonly abused by an intimate partner.
The coalition says the presence of a gun in a domestic violence situation increases the risk of homicide by 500 percent and intimate partner violence accounts for 15 percent of all violent crime.
