Domestic Violence Awareness Month 2025

 The Bertha Harris Women’s Center and the Title IX Coordinator, Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, invite you to join us in recognition of October 2025 as Domestic Violence Awareness Month. 

 According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1 in 4 women and 1 in 10 men have experienced sexual violence, physical violence and/or stalking by an intimate partner during their lifetime. After a steady decline in the rates of reported domestic violence incidents and deaths, the isolation and stress of the COVID Pandemic has contributed to a marked rise in domestic violence in recent years. In 2023, the State Comptroller’s Office published a report that documented that in New York City alone in that year, there were nearly 117,000 intimate partner-related domestic incident reports (DIRs) and nearly 250,000 total DIRs for domestic violence. In 2023, there were 73 domestic violence homicides, including 32 intimate partner homicides. (see: https://www.osc.ny.gov/files/reports/pdf/domestic-violence-recent-trends-10-23.pdf). 

 Domestic Violence Awareness Month is an opportunity to reflect on what is needed to end domestic violence, to demonstrate support for and solidarity with those who survive domestic violence, and to focus on prevention. 

 We invite you to wear purple with us on October 16 to show solidarity with survivors of domestic violence, and to pick up a purple ribbon to wear; they will be available in the Women’s Center in 2N/106 starting on October 16th. Wearing the purple and the ribbon can demonstrate your willingness to offer support for those who may be enmeshed in a current domestic violence situation and who may feel that they are alone with no options. If you are one of these people, please know that you are not alone. You have resources that you can turn to; on-campus supports like the Women’s Center, Counseling Center, and other resources are all absolutely confidential. You are not alone.

 We also invite all to join us on October 16th from 2.30pm to 4pm for a workshop in collaboration with the staff of the Seaman’s Society on Staten Island about Safe Relationships. Learn the warning signs and patterns of unsafe relationships that could develop into intimate partner violence. Learn what you can do if you or someone you love is dealing with domestic violence. Everyone is welcome to attend, in part because everyone is at risk of domestic violence, but also because the Bertha Harris Women’s Center is a center for everyone. There will be no judgment and no shame.

 If you are a DV survivor, we want you to know that you are not alone — either in having been exposed to domestic violence yourself or in seeking assistance. You have allies who have been where you are. You have allies who will help you find a way to safety. If you need immediate help, call 1-800-621-HOPE for the New York City Domestic Violence Hotline, or call 311 and ask for the Domestic Violence Hotline. If you are in immediate danger, call 911. On the CSI campus, you will find support and assistance at the Bertha Harris Women’s Center (2N/106), in the Title IX office of the ODEI (ODEI@csi.cuny.edu), and from Public Safety (718.982.2111).

 By: The Bertha Harris Women’s Center