Staff Writer
HOULTON — The color purple will soon become a popular scene throughout downtown Houlton and the public is being urged to embrace and encourage others to join in the spirit of wearing a purple ribbon.
Photo by Jamie Cleary
PROMOTING AWARENESS — The Jobs For Maine Grads Students from Houlton and Hodgdon high schools volunteered their time by putting together 500 cards with small purple ribbons attached. The Battered Women’s Project will distribute these throughout the community for people to take and wear in support of those who have lost their lives or survived domestic violence. October is recognized as Domestic Violence Awareness Month. Pictured here representing Hodgdon High School is Chelsea Putnam (left) and Jessica Guy (right).
“It’s a symbol of support for all those who lost their lives or those that have survived,” explained Pat Reardon, the Battered Women’s Project shelter coordinator.
October is considered Domestic Violence Awareness month and is recognized nationally. The Battered Women’s Project has been promoting the event for the past several years and in doing so, they have gained some strength from the public both young and old.
Most recently, students of the Jobs For Maine Grads from Houlton and Hodgdon high schools volunteered their time by putting together 500 cards with small purple ribbons attached. The Project will distribute these throughout the community for people to take and wear in support of those who have lost their lives or survived domestic violence.
“The students understood that the ribbons were to remember those who had been battered or are being battered,” Reardon said. “It had been explained to them.”
Numerous events are being held throughout October to bring awareness of domestic violence.
In May, more than 90 Maine lawmakers took steps to protect victims of domestic violence. Two measures were introduced before the Committee on Criminal Justice and Public Safety to create a bill that would treat domestic violence as a serious crime.
“An Act to Protect Families and Enhance Public Safety by Making Domestic Violence a Crime” — LD 1627 — would change the current law to create a crime called “Domestic Assault.”
LD 1627 is an instrument that law enforcement and prosecutors can use to send the powerful message to both victims and abusers that domestic violence will not be tolerated in “any form, in any context, in any circumstance.”
This also creates harsher penalties for the offender as well.
The measure also aims to prevent the arrest of victims by requiring law enforcement to evaluate who is the predominant physical aggressor in domestic abuse circumstances. Predominant aggressor statutes help promote victim safety by providing guidelines, which help law enforcement officers to fully assess a situation rather than make an arrest based on apparent injuries to one party.
A third bill relating to adequate funding of domestic violence and sexual assault prevention and intervention may be scheduled for a future public hearing as well.
It is “An Act to Prevent Violence against Maine Families and to Provide Adequate Intervention in Cases of Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault” — LD 1224, which is sponsored by Sen. Bill Diamond (D-Cumberland County).
For more information on how to help, or to get help, call 1-800-439-2323 or 532-4004.
