October 3, 2013
7th Annual Purple Ribbon Campaign Highlights Issue of Violence Against Women
Carson City, NV – Nevada Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto and the Nevada Council for the Prevention of Domestic Violence are recognizing October as Domestic Violence Awareness Month by distributing 750 “Purple Ribbon Pins” to various agencies across the state as part of its awareness campaign.
“For the last three years Nevada has ranked first in the U.S. for women murdered by men according to the Violence Policy Center,” said Masto. “A recent report by the group now ranks Nevada as sixteenth. We are making progress but still have a long way to go. We will continue to address these statistics and improve our system responses to domestic violence in order to save lives. I encourage Nevadans to wear purple or purple ribbon pins throughout October to show their support for ending domestic violence.”
The purple ribbon symbolizes life and freedom for those women no longer living with violence. A limited number of free pins are available on a first come, first serve basis. To obtain your pin, contact Lisa South at LSouth@ag.nv.gov.
A lifelong advocate for women and children, General Masto has worked on behalf of Nevada's domestic violence victims. She introduced a bill, which became a law in October 2011, to organize a multi-disciplinary team to review the deaths of domestic violence victims. General Masto chairs this group, called the Domestic Violence Fatality Review Statewide Team. The team released their first annual report in April 2013 which recommended improve systems in place to assist potential victims and to create better lines of communications and awareness in the community.
Domestic Violence Awareness Month was created in 1987 to promote increased rights and services for domestic violence victims; to educate the public about the crisis of domestic violence; and to encourage involvement and support for domestic violence victims and those who serve them.
More information about domestic violence resources and events is available on the Attorney General’s Office website.
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