Women’s Crisis Service
Assistance to women and children
who are victims of domestic abuse.
Hotline: 503-399-7222,
866-399-7722
www.mvwcs.com
By Kristine Thomas
Jayne Downing of the Mid-Valley Women’s Crisis Service said domestic violence touches the lives of many women and children. And it isn’t limited to women of one socio-economic class, she said. It knows no boundaries – occurring in the homes of the wealthy as well as the poor and the highly educated as well as the dropout.
Last year, more than 1,200 reports of domestic violence were received into the Marion County District Attorney’s office. The Mid-Valley Women’s Crisis Service received 10,813 calls on its hotline last year, Downing said.
There are many women who are victims of domestic abuse who do not report the problem to law enforcement authorities. Last year, more than 516 people walked into the Mid-Valley Women’s Crisis Service to seek help.
Downing, executive director of MVWCS, said October is national Domestic Violence Awareness month. It’s her goal to help educate the community about what domestic violence is and to share knowledge that women – who are 95 percent of the victims – don’t have to face the problem alone, there are places to turn.
“What many people don’t understand is domestic violence is a choice,” Downing said. “If you look at where the abuser hits his victim, it’s in places were the bruises won’t show. Anger is the tool the abuser uses to get what he wants.”
Contrary to many people’s belief, Downing said, domestic violence isn’t limited to physical violence.
It also includes emotional and financial abuse.
“Domestic violence is about control,” she said. “The abuser believes he is entitled to have power and control over the other person.”
According to the MVWCS Web site, domestic violence costs the U.S. economy an estimated $3 billion to $5 billion in job absenteeism and $100 million in medical expenses.
Doreen Kelly of Silverton Together says she also receives phone calls from women seeking help. She never asks the women’s names, just connects them with resources.
Eugene Field Elementary school counselor Janie Burich invites the community to attend an assembly called “Hands and Words are Not for Hurting” Oct. 16, 10 a.m. at the school. The program is nationwide and will be presented by its founder Ann Kelly, who started it in 1997 in Salem.
Students at Eugene Field recite the pledge, “I will not use my hands or my words for hurting others or myself.”
“The pledge sounds real simple but it is huge,” Burich said. “It asks people to think about what your hands and words are capable of doing to hurt others. The program teaches kids how to think about how their hands can’t do anything without them deciding what they want them to do.”
The program is a proactive way to work with youngsters to help them understand the importance of making good choices.
“We also want to show that their school is a nonviolent zone,” she said. “It’s a safe place for them to come.”
Children are very impressionable in the elementary years, Burich said. When they witness violence, it leaves an impression on them that lasts forever, she said. Seeing their parents fight is hard to forget when they go to school, making it difficult for them to concentrate on schoolwork.
“For many kids who are the victims of domestic violence, their self-esteem is in the toilet,” she said. “Every time they are told they are no good or dumb or stupid, it makes it harder for them to behave because they believe they are no good.”
“What we want children and the community to know is that domestic violence is a choice,” she said. “We want children to have the capability to think about how they use their hands and their words.”
