Wednesday, Oct. 1, 2003

Gov. Minner Declares October as Domestic Violence Awareness Month

Wilmington – Governor Ruth Ann Minner Wednesday officially declared October 2003 as Domestic Violence Awareness Month, calling on all Delawareans to increase their awareness of domestic violence and to learn about the services available to assist victims.

“You only need to pick up a newspaper or watch the evening news to see how prevalent intimate partner violence is and how many lives are impacted, particularly by those most tragic cases which end in domestic violence homicide,” Gov. Minner said. “Ten years ago, Delaware undertook an innovative approach to this serious issue by joining together the efforts of advocates, law enforcement officers and state officials through the Domestic Violence Coordinating Council and today we highlight a decade of progress in fighting domestic violence.”

Since 1993, Delaware has enacted the Protection From Abuse Statute, which provides broad relief to victims and their families; opened three new shelters, educated hundreds of law enforcement officers and developed numerous programs to assist victims in safely ending the abuse.

Senator Patricia M. Blevins, acting chair of the DVCC, was author of the original legislation and has served as co-chair of the council since the first meeting in September of 1993.

“The idea was to bring together key stakeholders; domestic violence service providers and policy level officials to sit at the same table, to identify the issues, develop responses and implement improvements in the system,” Sen. Blevins said. “In the ten years that have passed, considerable improvement has been made in Delaware’s response to domestic violence. Early on, we identified training as a key component of improving system response and since 1993, the DVCC has provided domestic violence training for over 2500 individuals, including law enforcement officers, state employees, judicial officers, cabinet level officials and advocates.”

Much of the work of the Coordinating Council is done through its eight subcommittees, which over the years have been successful in passing legislation, collecting and tracking data, developing policies and improving court services.

Carol Post, Executive Director of the Delaware Coalition Against Domestic Violence, cited several areas of system improvement including the addition of free legal assistance for victims, a significant increase in direct services for victims and their children, the model policy for police officer response, standards for perpetrator treatment, training of state personnel, guidelines for medical personnel and the opening of Delaware’s first shelter for battered immigrant women.

To learn about the domestic violence services in your area, call the Domestic Violence Hotlines:

Last Updated: Tuesday, 17-Jul-2007 16:24:01 EDT