In observance of National Domestic Violence Awareness Month, Fairfax County Police Department’s Victim Services Sectionis sponsoring their annual 5K walk created to raise awareness of issues surrounding domestic violence. So far in 2012, there have been 1,796 people charged with assault against a family member in Fairfax County.
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Domestic violence is a crime that does not prey on women of a certain age, race or socioeconomic background.
According to domesticviolencestatistics.org, a woman is beaten or assaulted every nine seconds in the United States.
Karen Ingram, the Danville/Pittsylvania County domestic violence victim’s advocate for the YWCA of Central Virginia, said that one of the most difficult hurdles she faces with domestic violence victims is talking them into leaving because there is no shelter in the Dan River Region.
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CHESTERFIELD, Va. --The Domestic and Sexual Violence Resource Center will host its annual conference, "Beyond Stereotypes: The Intrinsic Nature of Domestic Violence," on Oct. 26.
The conference, presented in partnership with Virginia State University and John Tyler Community College, will be from 9 a.m.-4:30 p.m. in the Nicholas Building at the Chester campus of John Tyler Community College.
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Combat isn’t reserved for the battlefield, and the blood of wounded warriors isn’t always shed on foreign soil.
“An abused woman’s experience is similar to a service member’s,” Sgt. Michael Coker carefully explained to his rapt audience. “They’re always combat ready, they suppress their anger, and they receive less support than most people.”
Coker, who served 20 years as a police officer with the Portsmouth, Va., Police Department, took the lead as guest speaker for scores of social services professionals, command leaders, and members of base and civilian police forces who came together at the annual Domestic Violence Prevention and Awareness Conference at Marston Pavilion aboard Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune Oct. 1.
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Willimantic, Conn. - The Women's Center at Eastern Connecticut State University will host the Red Flag Campaign, a public awareness mission designed to promote the prevention of dating violence on college campuses, from Oct. 8-12 throughout the day in Room 116 of the Student Center. The public is invited. Admission is free.
The Red Flag Campaign was launched in October 2007 on college and university campuses in Virginia before being launched nationally. The campaign was created using a "bystander intervention" strategy, which encourages friends and other campus community members to say something when they see warning signs for dating violence in a friend's relationship. Research indicates that in 21 percent of college dating relationships, one of the partners is being abused. That's one in five relationships.
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It’s National Pork Month. It’s Clergy Appreciation Month. It’s Pregnancy/Infant Loss Awareness Month, Filipino American History Month and National Arts and Humanities Month.
October is the month we make ourselves aware of breast cancer, national cyber security and dwarfism. It’s Lesbian-Gay-Bisexual-Transgender History Month, Fair Trade and Auto Batteries Month.
But for 1.3 million women and 835,000 men — the number who suffer domestic assault in the U.S. every year — October is important for something else: It’s Domestic Violence Awareness Month.
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More local people who deal with young people are now responsible for reporting suspicions of child abuse or neglect in Virginia, a result of the child-abuse scandal at Penn State University.
That includes people older than 18 who are associated with or employed by a public organization responsible for children, a private sports organization or team, public or private day camps, youth centers or youth recreation programs, and public private institutions of higher learning.
That also includes volunteers.
As of July 1, Virginia’s new laws took effect, which essentially mean that many more people are responsible for being “mandated reporters,” meaning they must report suspicions of abuse or neglect, according to Amherst County authorities.
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Virginia ranks number 5 among 50 states for the rate of women killed by men, according to a new Violence Policy Center report.
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To ensure that teachers lose their licenses if they have been found to have engaged in sexual misconduct, the Virginia Department of Education has hired a specialist to follow up.
State education officials say that although background checks can stop a convicted teacher from getting a job in another division, some instructors have retained their licenses because they resigned before cases went to court.
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Governor Bob McDonnell used the backdrop of the Albemarle-Charlottesville Regional Jail to ceremonially sign several pieces of legislation targeting sex offenders, especially those who prey on children.
The governor says the six bills he signed Friday will help prevent the most violent of sex crimes, especially those against children.
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