Domestic Abuse Cause Struggles For October Attention

Undone by the pink ribbon, Domestic Violence Awareness Month might move from October to a new spot on the calendar.

The idea blossomed this summer during the 13th annual National Conference on Domestic Violence in Washington and has trickled to grass-roots agencies struggling to grab America's attention - and dollars.

Groups say National Breast Cancer Awareness Month has been so successful that other worthy causes can't compete. The pink ribbon representing breast cancer awareness month is known worldwide, and the international Susan G. Komen foundation has catapulted the issue into one of the most successful health campaigns in history.

"Breast cancer has done such a good job," said Linda Osmundson, executive director of CASA, a domestic violence shelter and outreach center in St. Petersburg. "Domestic violence has become absorbed in their shadow."

October has been recognized as Domestic Violence Awareness Month since 1987 and is designated as such each year by presidential proclamation. The 10th month is marked by purple ribbons, candlelight vigils and major fundraisers.

It's the time of year when The Spring of Tampa Bay holds its popular $50-a-plate breakfast, which raises about $250,000 a year, said Joanne Lighter, president and chief executive officer of The Spring, Florida's largest domestic violence shelter.

"I'd hesitate to start moving that around," Lighter said of the event, now a tradition on many well-heeled socialites' calendars.

But the campaign to end domestic violence needs "a new framing," she conceded.

"I am jealous," Lighter admitted. "I admire them, and I wonder, 'How do we get there?' "

She doesn't want such important women's health issues to have to compete. But tossing domestic violence into the same mix with breast cancer has created inequities when it comes to getting the word out.

Open any women's magazine in October and you'll see what she means. There are ads pushing the pink ribbon on T-shirts, coffee cups, yogurt, even guacamole.

In 25 years, the Komen Race for the Cure campaign alone has raised $1.2 billion toward research with a pledge of $2 billion more in the next decade.

Domestic Violence Awareness doesn't get that kind of support.

"There's no way for us to sanitize it," Osmundson said. "Unfortunately, a whole lot more women are affected by domestic violence than breast cancer."

Statistics show that more than 200,000 women will be diagnosed with breast cancer this year. About 40,000 women and men will die from the disease.

The U.S. Department of Justice reports an estimated 1.3 million women and 835,000 men are victims of domestic violence each year. About 1,600 people are killed each year by domestic violence.

The idea of switching months has been a touchy one, especially in the midst of Domestic Violence Awareness Month and at the risk of offending Breast Cancer Awareness supporters.

The National Network to End Domestic Violence declined to speak on the topic. The leaders of the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence and its Florida chapter did not respond to requests for comment.

But one national group, the Nicole Brown Foundation in California, liked the idea.

Executive Director Denise Brown, sister of the late Nicole Brown Simpson, recently told The Tampa Tribune she favored a new month. Her pick: May, the month with a day dedicated to mothers.

Really, though, what's important is that the message be heard, said Brown, the keynote speaker at The Spring's recent breakfast. "I truly believe every month is domestic violence awareness month."