(Courtesy of JFS Clifton) Domestic violence occurs when someone you love consistenly destroys your sense of control over your own life. It encompasses violence from the most lethal murders to the slowest and most corrosive killing of the soul. It can happen to anyone––men or women, young or old, rich or poor, professional or unskilled. Since 2017, four women a day have been killed by an intimate partner. More than 38 million American women have been victims of domestic violence.
The National Network to End Domestic Violence was founded in 1990 when a small group of domestic violence victim advocates came together to promote federal legislation related to domestic violence. In 1994 it led efforts to pass the landmark Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) authored by then Senator Joe Biden. The law was the first federal legislation to strengthen the government’s response to crimes perpetrated against victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, dating violence and stalking.
Project S.A.R.A.H., Stop Abusive Relations At Home, the New Jersey VAWA-funded project with the specific purpose of addressing domestic violence within the Orthodox Jewish community, has been at the forefront of addressing these issues across the state. As a result of the efforts of Project S.A.R.A.H. hundreds of victims have accessed free counseling services, received pro bono legal consultations, obtained kosher kits when necessary through the array of New Jersey domestic violence shelters and have been assisted in obtaining a “Get” from recalcitrant husbands. Community education has reached thousands of school children, camp counselors, teachers, rabbis, mikvah attendants, kallah teachers and healthcare providers.
As part of the recognition that even one victim is one too many, the work continues. The restaurants listed below have all signed on to “Dine and Donate” – 10% of their profits on Tuesday, Nov. 5, will be donated to support the work of Project S.A.R.A.H. Please patronize them to show your support of this work.
Also, the rabbis and organizations listed in the Many Voices One Message ad on page 46 have all committed to work to end domestic violence. Please thank your rabbi if you see his name listed and let him know that you appreciate his efforts to change the culture that would enable any member of the community to be subjected to abuse. Shining the light on this hidden and shameful problem is the only way to effect a cure. (Due to a printing error, many Bergen County rabbis were omitted from the original ad.)
High school students have been asked to wear purple on Thursday, Nov. 7. If your high school student is able to participate, remind them that you will support their efforts to have healthy long-term relationships and you will never pressure them to ignore their feeling that “something is not right.”
Stand with Project S.A.R.A.H. as it continues to work with your schools, your synagogues, your families to ensure that no one suffers because they don’t know where to turn. For information and resources, visit Project SARAH.org or call 973-777-7638 and ask for Project S.A.R.A.H..
