MEDFORD, Or. – October marks Domestic Violence Awareness Month.
Multiple organizations, like Community Works here in the Rogue Valley, have been putting together events to break the silence on an uncomfortable topic in our community.
“We just want everybody to know that it’s out there, that you’re loved and that you need to be loved, and it shouldn’t hurt, and it shouldn’t cause pain or blood,” Kimberly Lovegosky, a participant in a domestic violence awareness walk, said.
Experts say there a lot of misconceptions surrounding domestic violence present in society.
A common question for survivors goes something like “Why don’t you just leave?”
The answer, though, is much more complicated than you might think.
“The reason I never left, well one of them, is I always felt like I was going to be left with nothing and not have anywhere to go, and I also didn’t believe anyone would believe me. Edit and with your lives tied together, you think, leaving would do more damage than good,” domestic violence survivor, Allyce said.
“The most dangerous time and the most likely time that a survivor is going to be killed by their abuser is when they leave that relationship, edit and so for their own safety sometimes they stay,” Program Manager at Community Works, Dawn Burks said.
Community Works is a local organization that has been serving Jackson County since 1996.
They work to provide domestic violence survivors with one-on-one support services.
Their message to victims: you are not alone.
“I just want them to know they are not alone, that there are resources available. It’s very difficult to leave a situation like that without having some kind of support. So, we just want to make sure that they know that there is support here,” Burks said.
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