By Kate Atwood

In today’s fast paced world, silence is often a welcome moment in our lives. This month, however, your voice can actually save a life. October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month and it’s an opportunity for us to recognize one of our culture’s most violent forms of silence.

In the time it takes for you to read this article, a woman will be battered. It’s an easy epidemic to turn away from if it doesn’t directly affect you, but the odds that a woman in your life will experience intimate partner violence may be more likely than you think.

Even knowing the staggering statistic that 1 in 4 women will experience domestic violence, few things remain as taboo to discuss. Why does it continue to be one of the most hidden offenses in our culture? Is it because of the intimacy of the issue, the frustration in the lack of control we may have as an outsider in the situation?

The truth is that our voice is our biggest weapon against batterers. Domestic violence isn’t about raising money for a cure; it’s about raising our voices such that this violence will not be tolerated and to let those affected know they are not alone.

Atlanta is fortunate to be the home of Partnership against Domestic Violence.  PADV is the largest nonprofit domestic violence organization in Georgia, providing professional, compassionate, and empowering support to battered women and their children in metro Atlanta. The agency has a fully staffed administrative office and two 24-hour emergency shelters in Fulton and Gwinnett counties.

PADV carries a bold mission to end domestic violence by offering safety and shelter for battered women and their children; restoring power, self-sufficiency and control to domestic violence survivors; and educating the public on the dynamics of domestic violence.

“In 2009, there were 125 intimate partner violence related homicides in Georgia; a 12 percent increase over the previous year. This is unacceptable. Let’s do something about it,” said Cathy Willis Spraetz, president and chief executive officer of PADV. “Intimate partner violence is a historically taboo, hidden secret. And batterers who abuse their partners thrive on our silence.”

So my charge to you this month is to break the silence. Here are three ways to get involved in Domestic Violence Awareness month:

• Join me in attending a PADV event during Domestic Violence Awareness Month this October.

-       Oct. 7: Silent No More! Candlelight Vigil: 6 p.m. at Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historic site.

-       Oct. 28: Domestic Violence Survivor Speak-out,11 a.m. at Gwinnett Historic Courthouse

• Next time you’re in Target or Wal-Mart, buy a gift card (any amount) and donate it to PADV for their shelter collections.
• Knowing that this is a growing problem for our teens and young adults, invite PADV to come to your child’s school or after-school program, civic organization, or university to discuss teen dating violence.

For more information on donations, events, or speakers visit www.padv.org.