October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month

• Every 9 seconds in the United States, a woman is assaulted or beaten
• 1 in 3 women will be a victim of abuse in her life
• One a typical day, there are more than 20,000 phone calls placed to domestic violence hotlines nation wide
• 1 in 15 children are exposed to intimate partner violence each year and 90% of those children witness the abuse
• 72% of all murder-suicides involve an intimate partner; and 94% of the victims of these murder-suicides are female

I grew up in a loving home. My parents were kind and respectful to each other. I did not witness violence in my life or in the life's of those around me. 

I WAS LUCKY. 

I was not one of those 1 in 15 children that grew up in violence. I am not one of the 1 in 3 women that has been assaulted by her partner. I am not one of the 20,000 phone calls placed to a shelter. I am not one of the women killed by her intimate partner. 

I AM LUCKY

My luck is not that I am not one of those people. My luck is that I have the honor and blessing to work with those women and children every single day. To give someone hope, to give someone a shoulder to cry on, to offer grace, mercy and love to a person. 

Violence against women is an epidemic. From the beginning of time, women have been oppressed, beaten and pushed down by their partners. Women have been seen as "lesser than" and "not worthy". The systematic oppression against women is real. I witness it every single day. I watch a woman go to court in hopes that the man that beat her and raped her will go to jail. Only to see him get off with a warning and probation. I see that woman then go into hiding because the threat against her for standing up for herself, for calling the police and for seeking help is going to increase by 70%. I see her fear for her life and the life of her children when she goes to work, takes her children to school and fights for her rights. I see her go back. I see her go back because the justice system did not work for her b/c for her it is better to go home, endure the violence and pain, than to be one of the women that is killed every single day because she left. 

How can we as a society allow this to happen? How can we put judgment on her? How can we sit there and say "Why doesn't she leave?" When we do NOTHING to help her once she does. Our justice system rarely holds abusive partners accountable, the amount of support and shelter available is incredibly slim and when a woman does actually leave her risk of being killed goes up 70%. 

As human beings it is our job to care for each other. As a Feminist Christian, I believe that our job as women is help other women. I believe that we have to stand up for what is right and make a change. That change can be small. Simply helping one person can change the course of not only her life but the life's of her children; which will eventually change the course of all the children that come after her. 

So why do we sit there in judgment? Why do we look the other way when we see someone crying out for help? 

FEAR. Fear drives all of us. We turn the other way because we don't have to be vulnerable. We don't want to "get in the way". We don't want to help b/c then our little bubble that we keep ourselves wrapped in to shut out all the pain of the world may be popped. We may learn that violence is real, we may see it in our face, we may have to hear to story of how she was raped, beaten and called horrific names than expected to care for her children, go to work and be a "good wife". 

And this is SCARY. It is incredibly scary. But fear can drive us to hope. If we move past our fear and allow ourselves to be vulnerable, to helping another human, we may just see a bit of hope for the world in the end. We may see the victim of violence become a survivor. We may just see the children of this woman grow up to be OK. We may just see the love, grace and mercy that is working in us through the Holy Spirit and we may be forever changed.

And THAT is why I do this work. I don't do it for myself. I do it for those that are in need, I do it because it is my calling. It is the calling of EVERYONE. Not just Christians, but all humans. We are to help those that are suffering, to offer them hope and to show them love and that they ARE WORTHY OF LIFE.

Matthew 25:35-40 For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’ Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’