The following is a written statement from Women’s Protective Services:

Experts from Women’s Protective Services of Lubbock will host a leadership discussion with Mayor Dan Pope at City Hall to address domestic violence in our community and local efforts to put an end to family and intimate partner violence.  The forum will be streamed live on Facebook and made available to all members of the community.

October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month and in an effort to engage our community in social action and change, Women’s Protective Services is opening the door on a conversation that happens most often behind the closed doors of our neighborhoods. WPS is hopeful that by conversing with the leader of our community, we can collectively “Break the Silence and End the Violence.”

“It is an honor to have Mayor Pope join us in raising awareness for domestic violence.” said Steven Garcia, Community Outreach & Education and Legal Advocacy Coordinator for WPS. “We can only put an end to domestic violence when we, as a community, recognize it as the very real threat that it is to the very foundation of our community, which are our families.” Garcia also hoped that his Lubbock friends, family, and neighbors would join him in wearing purple on October 19, 2017, Go Purple Day, to honor the 146 Texas women who lost their lives to domestic violence last year.  
According to the Texas Council on Family Violence, more than 5 million Texans have experienced domestic violence in their lifetime and 1 in 3 Texan women will experience domestic violence. Further statistics of domestic violence show how important it is that we bring this conversation to everyone in our community:

•    Every minute, 20 people are victims of domestic violence. 
•    A woman is beaten every 9 seconds in the U.S.
•    Approximately 5 million children between the ages of 3-17 are exposed to domestic violence each year
•    Every day, 3 women are murdered by a current or former male partner in the U.S.
•    40 million adults grew up in homes with domestic violence

Domestic violence is defined by the U.S. Department of Justice as “a pattern of abusive behavior in any relationship that is used by one partner to gain or maintain power and control over another intimate partner.  Domestic violence can be physical, sexual, emotional, economic, or psychological actions or threats of actions that influence another person. This includes any behaviors that intimidate, manipulate, humiliate, isolate, frighten, terrorize, coerce, threaten, blame, hurt, injure, or wound someone.”

(Press release from Women’s Protective Services) 

Note: the live stream will be October 18 at 3:00 pm on facebook.com/WPSLubbockInc