Domestic Violence Awareness Month Activities

"Break the Silence, Make the Call" Media Campaign Launched

November 1, 2003, marked the launch of an exciting new media campaign collaborated on and created by Jane Doe Inc. and the other five New England states. The theme of this campaign is “Break the Silence, Make The Call,” which highlights the often hidden reality of domestic violence in people’s lives. Composed of such startling images as an office coffee mug that reads "I'm Being Abused," a Massachusetts license plate that spells "Victim," and a mailbox with the name “A. Victim," this campaign asks people to learn the warning signs of an abusive relationship among their friends, family, or co-workers. By knowing what to look for, we can break the silence surrounding issues of domestic violence and help put it to an end.

The subtext of the campaign, “It’s never this obvious” underscores the dangerous tendency to minimize or dismiss abusive behavior. Rather than expecting the victim to self-identify, bystanders – friends, family members, and co-workers, can gently ask direct questions about their situation, offer to listen without judgement and emphasize that help is available.

This theme was chosen for our 2003 Domestic Violence Awareness Month Campaign to underscore three key points:

1) Domestic violence is an insidious crime where batterers use threats of future violence to silence their victims and where they are enabled by a perceived, and sadly often real, societal and individual indifference.
2) Community-based domestic violence organizations provide critical resources for victims and survivors as well as friends, relatives, co-workers and neighbors.
3) We each can be part of the solution in creating a world free from domestic violence and sexual assault.

Look for posters, billboards, radio spots, and television public service announcements in your local area to see the campaign in action.

For more information about how you can break the silence, please visit www.BreakTheSilenceMakeTheCall.com.

To order campaign materials, please click here.

Click here to view our “Break the Silence, Make the Call” brochure online.