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Walking away from domestic violence: A survivor speaks out
Ahead of this Saturday's Walk to End Domestic Violence, survivor and state Sen. LeAnna Washington shares her story.
Walking away from domestic violence: A survivor speaks out
This Saturday, Oct. 22, people of every age, color and socioeconomic background will congregate on West River Drive to draw attention to an issue that affects thousands of individuals in Philadelphia each year: domestic violence. The event: the fourth annual Walk to End Domestic Violence, benefiting Women Against Abuse, which runs a Philadelphia shelter as well as the only area domestic abuse hotline. Ahead of the walk, we spoke with its founder, abuse survivor and state Senator LeAnna Washington.
As Washington says, “If I didn't get out when I did, I would be dead, or eating out of a trash can in the street, or in a mental institution.” Washington’s husband had been abusing her while they dated and throughout their entire marriage, even giving her a black eye on their honeymoon. Once she made the decision to get out and move far away, she saw options for herself and her children. She went back to school for her master’s degree, served in the House of Representatives, and was elected a Pennsylvania senator in 2005.
Still, Washington knows that many others have not been so fortunate. “This is not only a local or state issue, or even national. This is a social epidemic," she says.
Many in similar or worse situations of domestic abuse are often unable to admit that they are being abused, incapable of seeking help, or are hindered financially from removing themselves from their situation. Jeannine Lisitski, director of Women Against Abuse, says, “Domestic violence happens everywhere across all socioeconomic levels, races, ages: it cuts across everything. But when you’re talking about poverty it’s another layer of oppression.”
Women Against Abuse had 9,515 callers in 2010, one indication of the extent of the problem. “Our goal is to bring domestic violence out into the forefront so we talk about it like we talk about HIV, breast cancer and Alzheimer’s disease," Washington says. "Stop making it a household secret and let those women know that are suffering in situations around them that there are resources for them.”
Walk to End Domestic Violence, Sat., Oct. 22, 2011 on West River Drive; Registration: 9 a.m., Kick Off Ceremony: 10 a.m., Walk: 10:30 a.m.
, rain or shine. All proceeds will support the city’s domestic abuse hotline.
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