YWCA raises awareness about domestic violence on Kauai

LIHUE — Traditionally, the YWCA of Kauai hosts Domestic Violence and Violence-Free Week with a candlelight vigil to honor victims of domestic violence.

But this year is different as the YWCA Kauai announced there will be no candlelight vigil during YWCA Violence Free Week, which runs Oct. 21-26.

Instead, it all came together as Mayor Derek SK Kawakami delivered the annual celebration proclamation at the Moikeha Building along with the YWCA of Kauai’s many community partners.

Financial trauma is one of the causes of domestic violence and violence, and it is the theme of the YWCA of Kaua’s Violence Free Week. The term is defined by The Power and Control Wheel describing economic abuse as preventing a partner from getting or keeping a job, making them ask for money, giving them an allowance, taking their money and not letting them know or have access to his family. income.

Domestic violence, as defined in the mayor’s proclamation presented Wednesday, means deliberate intimidation, physical assault, battery, sexual assault, coercive control, verbal and emotional abuse, financial and any other abusive behavior as part of a systematic pattern of power and control.

Domestic violence includes, but is not limited to, intimate partner violence, or IPV, dating violence, stalking, and family violence. Examples of these cases frequently appear in television news reports in Hawaii and are highlighted at vigils and rallies.

Across the country, nearly one in two women, 40 percent of men and 54 percent of gender diverse people have experienced domestic violence in their lifetime, according to information from the proclamation. The proclamation states that research has shown that women, LGBTQIA2s+ people, and Black, Indigenous, and people of color are at increased risk of being victims of domestic violence.

Moving closer to home in 2023, 18.5% of University of Hawaii students reported experiencing domestic violence while enrolled in the UH system, and nearly 7 in 10 women reported experiencing domestic violence. been harassed by a current or former intimate partner.

The Kauai Police Department conducted 278 lethality checks in 2023, as part of the Domestic Violence Lethality Assessment Program, or LAP program. Of the 278 assessments, 157 victims, or approximately 56 percent, were deemed to be at high risk of serious injury or death due to abuse from their current or former intimate partner.

During the same period in 2023, the YWCA of Kauai provided services to 101 survivors of domestic violence referred by the LAP program. That same year, the YWCA of Kauai responded to an additional 396 calls related to domestic violence, providing a range of comprehensive services including counseling, advocacy, shelter, temporary housing, restraining order support temporary and financial empowerment courses.

The YWCA of Kauai also provided clinical domestic violence treatment to offenders through Alternatives to Violence programs.

The YWCA of Kauai and its network of community partners invite the community to take a strong stand against domestic violence during two October observances.

“During Domestic Violence Awareness Month, our goal is to center victims and survivors while raising awareness, mobilizing support and encouraging action from all sectors of our community,” YWCA Kauai said.

“We salute the voices and lived experiences of survivors, the unwavering commitment of advocates, and the solidarity demonstrated by supporters in our community. »