Limited Edition Foods

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and the month always brings a feast of limited edition food products. Over the next few weeks the blog will feature pink bagels, pink chocolate products, pink pastries, as October always offers a veritable plethora of pink items designed to raise awareness and funds for breast cancer research.

But October is not just Breast Cancer Awareness Month, it is Domestic Violence Awareness Month as well. Domestic violence is also a huge killer of women, but its purple pride is less trendy (and less profitable) than the pink packaging that dominates the shelves this time of year. This is a shame, because as important as it is to support breast cancer research we cannot forget that domestic violence is quietly devastating women every day:

One in three women has been the victim of abuse at the hands of a boyfriend or husband.

A third of the women in America admit that they have been physically or sexually assaulted by a husband or a boyfriend in their lifetimes.

At least three women are murdered by their husbands or boyfriends every day.

Children who witness violent acts between their parents are much more likely to grow up to become abusive themselves.

Domestic violence costs the economy over $5 billion dollars every year in health care costs, lost productivity and missed work, and related expenses.

Men are not immune from violence: twenty five percent of the victims of domestic violence are male.

Domestic violence is a devastating epidemic and silence is its friend. Many of the bloggers around the 451 Press network are taking time to promote domestic violence awareness during this first week in October. April has some compelling posts over on Her Daily News, while Susan at Home Computer Talk has a list of online resources for victims or people wanting to learn more about the issues. Beth at Astrology Explored has written about how to recognize the signs that someone is a violent individual and the manipulative traits of an abusive personality.

KD at WatchingCSI.com was kind enough to showcase CSI’s partnership with CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates), a national organization that works with abused and neglected children in foster care.

If you are interested in helping with the issue of domestic violence in a hands on manner, becoming a CASA is an invaluable way to help children who have been removed from violent homes. CASA volunteers get extensive training before they are assigned specific cases by juvenile judges, and they work alongside the attorneys and social workers involved in the case to investigate the child’s situation and make recommendations about what is in the best interests of the child.

If you are interested in learning more about CASA please go to NationalCASA.org or contact the CASA office in your area.

Domestic Violence, purple ribbon, awareness, October, CSI, CASA, astrology