Domestic Violence Awareness Month

October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month. Nearly 4 in 10 women served at SMILE are survivors of domestic violence. We are committed to empowering these women to make their own decisions and achieving self-sufficiency in the way they see fit.

What is domestic violence? The National Coalition Against Domestic Violence defines domestic violence as:

The willful intimidation, physical assault, battery, sexual assault, and/or other abusive behavior as part of a systematic pattern of power and control perpetrated by one intimate partner against another. It includes physical violence, sexual violence, psychological violence, and emotional abuse. The frequency and severity of domestic violence can vary dramatically; however, the one constant component of domestic violence is one partner’s consistent efforts to maintain power and control over the other.