The YWCA is raising awareness about domestic violence in Kauai

LIHUE — Traditionally, the YWCA of Kauai hosts a Family Violence Free Week and candlelight vigil to honor victims of domestic violence.

But this year is different, as YWCA Kauai has announced that there will be no candlelight vigil during YWCA Nonviolence Week, which runs Oct. 21-26.

Instead, it all took place with Mayor Derek SK Kawakami presenting the proclamation for the annual celebration at the Moikeha Building in the YWCA’s company of Kauai’s many community partners.

Financial trauma is one of the causes of domestic abuse and violence and is the theme of YWCA Kaua’s Violence Free Week. The term is defined by The Power and Control Wheel, which describes economic abuse as preventing a partner from getting or keeping a job, making them ask for money, giving them an allowance, taking their money and not to inform them or have access to the family. income.

Domestic violence, as defined in the mayor’s proclamation presented Wednesday, is intentional intimidation, physical assault, battery, sexual assault, coercive control, verbal and emotional abuse, financial abuse and other abusive behavior as part of a systematic pattern of power and control.

Domestic violence includes but is not limited to intimate partner violence or IPV, dating violence, stalking, and family violence. Examples of these cases frequently appear on the television news in Hawaii and are highlighted by vigils and gatherings.

Nationwide, nearly 1 in 2 women, 40 percent of men and 54 percent of gender diverse individuals have experienced intimate partner violence in their lifetime, the proclamation said. The statement states that research has shown that women, LGBTQIA2+ people, and people of color, Indigenous people and people of color are at increased risk of domestic violence victimization.

Closer to home in 2023, 18.5 percent of University of Hawaii students reported experiencing domestic violence while enrolled in the UH system, and nearly 7 in 10 women reported experiencing faced with stalking a current or former intimate partner.

The Kauai Police Department conducted 278 lethality tests in 2023 as part of the Domestic Violence Lethality Assessment Program, or LAP program. Of the 278 assessments, 157 victims, or approximately 56 percent, were determined to be at high risk of serious injury or death from abuse by their current or former intimate partners.

During the same period in 2023, the YWCA of Kauai provided services to 101 survivors of domestic violence referred through the LAP program. That same year, the YWCA of Kauai fielded an additional 396 domestic violence hotlines, offering a wide range of comprehensive services including counseling, advocacy, shelter, bridge housing, temporary restraining order support and financial empowerment classes.

The YWCA of Kauai also provided clinical domestic violence treatment to offenders through its Alternatives to Violence programs.

The YWCA of Kauai and its network of community partners are inviting the community to take a strong stand against domestic violence during the two October holidays.

“During Domestic Violence Awareness Month, our goal is to focus victims and survivors as we raise awareness, mobilize support and encourage action in every sector of our community,” said YWCA Kauai.

“We commend the voices and lived experiences of survivors, the unwavering commitment of advocates and the solidarity shown by supporters in our community.”