A Painful Truth: A Retrospective of a Decade of Sexual Violence
2008 marks the 10-year anniversary of Denim Day in LA, a sexual violence awareness campaign launched as a response to the acquittal of a rapist. In honor of that anniversary, Peace Over Violence presents A Painful Truth: A Retrospective of a Decade of Sexual Violence. Do you think that sexual violence does not affect you or that rape is a thing of the past? This report not only provides us with a picture of how pervasive sexual violence and its impacts are in our society, but it also gives us a look at some of our best hopes and recommendations for preventing future violence as well as for helping survivors heal from the trauma of assault.
To download a complete copy of A Painful Truth click here
$300,000 Grant From Verizon for the Be Strong Program
$300,000 Grant From Verizon Helps Teenage Girls Build Self-Esteem and Avoid Violent Relationships
New Initiative by ‘Peace Over Violence’ Promotes Respect, Education
LOS ANGELES – Verizon and Verizon Wireless are donating $300,000 over two years to launch “Be Strong,” a groundbreaking initiative designed to promote self-respect among teenage girls in the Los Angeles County area and to encourage them to develop healthy, non-violent relationships.
The Be Strong program, to be created and administered by Peace Over Violence (formerly the Los Angeles Commission on Assaults Against Women), will provide high-risk girls with opportunities for education and leadership development. The program’s goal is to help participants avoid relationship violence – including rape, dating violence and domestic abuse – and demonstrate respect for their peers.
“Domestic violence is a serious and growing issue facing young people,” said Verizon West Region President Tim McCallion. “They need to learn to recognize the fundamental importance of respect for one another and respect for themselves. We are confident that the young women who participate in the ‘Be Strong’ initiative will break the cycle of violence and fulfill their potential.” John Palmer, regional president of Verizon Wireless, said, “The ‘Be Strong’ program will not only build resistance to relationship violence among girls just starting to date, but also help them build an online community for ongoing support. We’re proud to support Peace Over Violence, its board members, leaders and tireless employees, as the agency launches a new initiative to help girls stop the cycle of violence.”
Be Strong participants will learn about ways to avoid potentially violent situations; promote self-health; use the Internet safely; evaluate media images and role models; and build skills for healthy communication within relationships. The girls in the program will then collaborate with local groups to share their knowledge with others in their communities.
A centerpiece of the program will be an online community through which girls can support each other. Features of the online forum will include a discussion blackboard where registered members can post comments and questions for other members.
The Verizon Foundation – the philanthropic arm of Verizon Communications – and Verizon Wireless are recognized corporate leaders in the fight against domestic violence. Verizon Wireless provides grants through its HopeLine® phone recycling program, where no-longer-needed wireless phones and accessories from any wireless provider are collected and refurbished or recycled in an environmentally friendly way. Proceeds from the HopeLine program benefit domestic violence survivors and nonprofit advocacy agencies by providing them essential communication tools – wireless phones and services – and financial grants.
Since 2001, HopeLine has awarded nearly $4 million in cash grants to domestic violence agencies throughout the country and collected more than 4 million wireless phones.
About the Verizon Foundation
The Verizon Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Verizon Communications, is committed to improving literacy and K-12 education; fostering awareness and prevention of domestic violence; and promoting the use of technology in health-care delivery. In 2006, the foundation awarded more than $69 million in grants to nonprofit agencies in the United States and abroad. The foundation also matched charitable donations from Verizon employees and retirees, resulting in $29 million in combined contributions. Under the foundation’s Verizon Volunteer initiative, one of the nation’s largest employee-volunteer programs, company employees and retirees also have contributed nearly 3 million hours of community service since Verizon’s inception in 2000. For more information on the foundation, visit www.verizon.com/foundation.
About Verizon Communications Inc.
Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ), a New York-based Dow 30 company, is a leader in delivering broadband and other wireline and wireless communication innovations to mass market, business, government and wholesale customers. Verizon Wireless operates America’s most reliable wireless network, serving more than 62 million customers nationwide. Verizon’s wireline operations include Verizon Business, which operates one of the most expansive wholly-owned global IP networks, and Verizon Telecom, which is deploying the nation’s most advanced fiber-optic network to deliver the benefits of converged communications, information and entertainment services to customers. For more information, visit www.verizon.com.
About Verizon Wireless
Verizon Wireless operates the nation’s most reliable wireless voice and data network, serving more than 62.1 million customers. The largest U.S. wireless company and largest wireless data provider, based on revenues, Verizon Wireless is headquartered in Basking Ridge, N.J., with 67,000 employees nationwide. The company is a joint venture of Verizon Communications (NYSE: VZ) and Vodafone (NYSE and LSE: VOD). Find more information on the Web at www.verizonwireless.com. To preview and request broadcast-quality video footage and high-resolution stills of Verizon Wireless operations, log on to the Verizon Wireless Multimedia Library at www.verizonwireless.com/multimedia.
VERIZON’S ONLINE NEWS CENTER: Verizon news releases, executive speeches and biographies, media contacts, high quality video and images, and other information are available at Verizon’s News Center on the World Wide Web at www.verizon.com/news. To receive news releases by e-mail, visit the News Center and register for customized automatic delivery of Verizon news releases.
36th Annual Humanitarian Awards
The 36th Annual Peace Over Humanitarian Awards
We are delighted to report our 36th Annual Humanitarian Awards Event held on November 9, 2007 at the Beverly Hills Hotel was the most successful in our history! A big thank you to our co-hosts, sponsors, honorees, presenters, and attendees who together helped to make the event an evening to remember!
To view a list of our 2007 sponsors, click here
To view a list of our 2007 Humanitarian Awards Honorees, click here
Peace Over Violence Launches its 100 Ways, 100 Days Campaign
Peace Over Violence has just launched its newest campaign, 100 Ways, 100 Days. We are taking every opportunity to discuss the idea of looking at violence prevention in a different way, the idea of actually choosing peace each and every time we have an opportunity in our daily lives.
As we thought about our mission—building healthy relationships, families and communities free from sexual, domestic and interpersonal violence—we realized that all forms of violence in our society are interconnected. We realized that we cannot work to eliminate sexual assault and domestic violence against women and children in isolation, without regard for the connection that these particular manifestations of violence have to other forms of violence.
This realization of the interconnectedness of violence led to our final realization, our epiphany: ONLY BY ACTIVELY CHOOSING PEACE CAN WE OVERCOME VIOLENCE. The only way to eliminate interpersonal violence from our society is for each of us to choose peace, every day in every choice we make, in every action we take. If we can change attitudes, we can change the world. Help us spread the message that we can all, each day, choose peace over violence.
For more information and to see our list of 100 Ways Click Here
Support our 35 for 35 Fundraising Campaign
It’s not too late to participate in the 35 for 35 Matching Funds Campaign! At the end of the year, a small group of long-time supporters put together a matching fund of $35,000 to celebrate the 35th Anniversary of Peace Over Violence. They will match every contribution we get during the campaign dollar for dollar up to a total of $35,000 in donations. The campaign kicked off at the 35th Humanitarian Awards dinner on October 27, 2006 and runs through March 30, 2007. To date we have raised approximately $17,000. We’re halfway there! But we still have a long way to go to hit our goal of $35,000. Don’t let this matching fund money go to waste! If you haven’t given to the 35 for 35 campaign yet—or even if you have—please give today and help Peace Over Violence turn $35,000 into $70,000! Just write a check and put “35 for 35” in the memo line, or call today with your credit card number. Call the Metro office at 213-955-9090 and ask for Rochelle.
Denim Day in LA is coming April 25, 2007
Be apart of making the 9th Annual Denim Day in L.A. presented by Peace Over Violence (formerly LACAAW), the biggest and most powerful sexual assault prevention education and awareness campaign ever! Our goal is have an unprecedented impact in encouraging people to break the silence that surrounds all forms of sexual violence, and get hundreds of thousands of people wearing jeans across the city and county on April 25th, 2007, the date for Denim Day in LA 2007. Planning is underway and we encourage you to get invovled. Register today to show your support and participation. Volunteer for the Denim Day Planning Committee. Visit www.denimdayinla.org to register and learn more about how you can get involved or call 213-955-9090 and ask for Kibi.
LA Premiere of “Shadya”
Peace Over Violence co-Sponsors LA Premiere of “Shadya”- a powerful and touching documentary.
Sunday, December 10, at 3:00 p.m.
At The Fine Arts Theatre
8556 Wilshire Blvd (1 block west of La Cienega)
The film tells the story of seventeen-year-old Shadya Zoabi, a world champion in karate. But despite her father’s support, her brothers and other members of their small Arab village in northern Israel feel that karate is not an appropriate pursuit for a young Muslim woman. SHADYA tells the story of a girl who strives to succeed on her own terms-while remaining committed to her life in her community.
Peace Over Violence Executive Director, Patti Giggans speaks at the Q & A panel discussion following the screening.
The screening is free, but to guarantee admission, you must RVSP via email to lareservations@yahoo.com
The documentary will air on the emmy award-winning PBS series Independent Lense starting January 16, 2007.
For more information about the film and the screening, go to the ITVS.org Press room
Chris Gardner in “The Pursuit of Happyness”
A new film, “The Pursuit of Happyness” based on the life of Peace Over Violence 2006 Humanitarian Award Winner Chris Gardner will open in theatres across the country December 15, 2006. Film stars Will Smith as Gardner and chronicles his amazing life story. Always hard working and tenacious, a series of circumstances in the early 1980’s left Gardner homeless in San Francisco and the sole guardian of his toddler son. Unwilling to give up Chris Jr. or his dream of financial independence, Gardner started at the very bottom of the financial industry ladder and pulled his way up, often spending his nights in a church shelter or the a bathroom at a Bay Area Rapid Transit station in Oakland. The amazing story of Gardner’s life was also published as an autobiography, The Pursuit of Happyness, by Amistad/Harper Collins on May 23, 2006, and is currently #3 on the New York Times Best Seller list. Please visit Sony Pictures.com for more information.
LACAAW changes name to Peace Over Violence
Contact: John Lee
Nakatomi & Associates
(310) 914-5000
john@nakatomipr.com
The Los Angeles Commission on Assaults Against Women Wants You To Know: In Times Like These We Can Use A New Vision – Introducing Peace Over Violence
LOS ANGELES, Oct. 27, 2006—After 35 years of service in the violence prevention field, the Los Angeles Commission on Assaults Against Women (formerly LACAAW) will now be called Peace Over Violence.
The new name is a call to action and it reflects the organization’s expanded commitment to eliminating sexual, domestic and interpersonal violence.
Peace Over Violence began in 1971 when a small group of activists formed an anti-assault squad after the rape of their friend. Over the decades the organization, along with its mission and resolve, grew steadily to become a multi-service intervention and advocacy operation with a staff of 35, who work from three offices across Los Angeles.
Peace Over Violence’s executive director is Patti Giggans, a nationally recognized leader in countering sexual and domestic assault, who has long asserted that violence is preventable. Giggans contends that reducing violence against women, youth and children requires a raised awareness of the impact and costs on everyone.
“Our work is not done after 35 years,” Giggans says. “The recent murders of girls in the Amish community and at the Colorado high school are prime examples that our need is stronger than ever. Few people are even conscious of the gender targeting aspect of these awful crimes, and we need to be. This is why we are re-energizing ourselves and transforming into Peace Over Violence.”
To eliminate violence in society, Peace Over Violence offers programs and services provided with cultural and social sensitivity, emphasizing self-defense, peer counseling and education. The organization’s scope reaches beyond the confines of sexual and domestic conflict to address youth and interpersonal violence, and explicitly encourages social change through activism and policy advocacy.
Peace Over Violence offers counseling and aid via crisis intervention programs and services for survivors of violence, helping them cope with and heal from assault and abuse. These include a 24-hour, LA Rape and Battering Hotline; hospital and law enforcement accompaniment for victims; sexual assault response teams; domestic abuse response teams; in-person counseling; deaf and disabled services; Latina services and a legal advocacy program.
Prevention programs include self-defense training; community seminars; anti-stalking education; public service campaigns; teen dating violence prevention; peer education and counseling; Denim Day In LA; In Touch with Teens; leadership development and mentoring for high-risk youth. There are plans to render services online and nationwide.
Peace Over Violence promotes organizational and societal change through its new website, peaceoverviolence.org, and will soon unveil a series of powerful images on billboards and through advertising in Los Angeles and beyond.
The campaign features Calista Flockhart, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, and other public figures and everyday people in simple, black-and-white images with a series of powerful messages designed to change people’s pointsof view on combating violence.
Violence against women continues to be a problem, and women are still the primary focus of Peace Over Violence. But, in adapting to meet the needs of a changing society, the work done by the organization has shown how violent conflict spans gender, age, ethnicity, sexual orientation, religious belief and disability. To break the cycle, Giggans says, change must address society as a whole.
“Peace to us is not passive or neutral,” Giggans says. “It is not the absence of conflict but how we go about resolving conflict. Peace is not a state; it is an ongoing process that must be constantly engaged and chosen.”
Given the degree to which violence has become a part of society, Peace Over Violence’s national spokesperson Calista Flockhart recognizes the gravity of the organization’s work.
“Just how far their depth and breadth of work in the community goes has really blown me away,” Flockhart said on the occasion of the organization’s Oct. 27 annual humanitarian awards dinner. “Especially with such a small staff, their work is more like that of 100. This amazing growth has been one of the most eye-opening aspects of my work with them, as they just do so much to serve survivors of sexual assault.”
Giggans looks forward to a time when society’s dependence on violence becomes undone.
“The work we do is difficult and challenging,” Giggans said. “It requires a strong commitment to the community, much perseverance and the faith that one day we will celebrate the fact that our services are no longer necessary.”
35th Annual Humanitarian Awards
35th ANNUAL HUMANITARIAN AWARDS DINNER
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 27, 2006 IN BEVERLY HILLS
AN EVENING TO CELEBRATE SPECIAL HONOREES & THE UNVEILING OF A NEW NAME, NEW LOOK AND VISION FOR THE FUTURE!
What
Los Angeles Commission on Assaults Against Women celebrating its 35th Annual Humanitarian Awards Dinner & Name Change Launch presented by Verizon Wireless. Humanitarian awards to be presented include:
- Verizon Wireless Hopeline® Award presented to ICM Co-President Ed Limato
- Public Service Award presented to Los Angeles County District Attorney Steve Cooley
- Media Award presented to Marie Claire Magazine
- Community Service Award presented Director of Dispute Resolution of the Los Angeles City Attorney’s Office Avis Ridley-Thomas,
- Spirit Award presented to CEO of Gardner Rich & Co., Chris Gardner
- Volunteer Award presented to Associate Director of SCIPRC at UCLA School of Public Health, Billie Weiss.
Special guests include Calista Flockhart, Harrison Ford, Christine Lahti, Harry Lennox, Doris Roberts, Noah Wylie and other celebrities and VIPs from the entertainment industry are expected to attend.
When
Friday, October 27, 2006
Arrivals/Doors Open 6:00pm
Where
The Beverly Hills Hotel
9641 Sunset Blvd
Beverly Hills, CA 90210
The Los Angeles Commission on Assaults Against Women (LACAAW), is a non-profit, multicultural, volunteer organization whose mission is building healthy relationships, families and communities, free from sexual, domestic and interpersonal violence. LACAAW has adopted several approaches in their work: education, prevention and intervention. Since 1971, they have served the Los Angeles community, empowering survivors of sexual assault, domestic violence and child abuse.
The official sponsor of the event is Verizon Wireless.