Intimate partner violence including sexual violence, physical violence, and/or stalking is experienced by about one in four women and nearly one in 10 men during their lifetime according to the Centers for Disease Control. October is National Domestic Violence Awareness Month.

Both Mayor of Washington Jaron Rosien and Washington County Board of Supervisors Chairman Jack Seward read proclamations for Domestic Violence Awareness Month in meetings this month. Seward said, “Domestic violence, dating violence, and stalking affects women, children, and men of all racial, cultural, and economic backgrounds causing long term physical, psychological, and emotional harm. And whereas one in three Americans has witnessed an incident of domestic violence. And whereas children who experience domestic violence are at a higher risk for failure in school, mental illness, substance abuse, suicide, and may chose violence to solve problems later in life. And whereas domestic violence in rural communities exists as a hidden, silent, and often unrecognized crime that is often underreported.”

One local resource to assist victims of domestic violence is the Domestic Violence Intervention Program. DVIP provides free and confidential services to residents of Washington, Johnson, Henry, Iowa, Cedar, Des Moines, Lee, and Van Buren counties.

Xiomara Levsen with DVIP encourages people to reach out for help, “We will do safety planning with a client right away and try to get them into a safe place if they ask for a shelter or something like that. And then afterwards they will work with us on, you know, housing, counseling, we also do law enforcement advocacy and medical advocacy for clients who are dealing with domestic violence, as well.”

The free hotline for assistance is 1-800-373-1043. Levsen can also meet one-on-one with people in Washington County to assist with advocacy or safety planning.