THE GLOBE
PO BOX 5079 (51102)
1825 JACKSON ST.
SIOUX CITY, IA (51105)
712.255.2550
800.352.9035
WWW.CATHOLICGLOBE.ORG

Support effort to protect against domestic abuse

By Jerry Eaton, LMSW
Executive Director
Catholic Charities

“Do we deny shelter to individuals whose lives may be in danger? Can we still have someone available to meet with a victim in crisis?” These two quotes are from a letter sent out by Margaret Sanders of the Council on Sexual Assault and Domestic Violence.

Everyone knows the funding crisis in providing social services because of cutbacks in funding both nationally and at the state level. As a man I am always ashamed to admit the reason for the need for safe and secure shelters for women and children who are the victims of “men.” They really aren’t men to me and the prevalence of sexual assault and domestic violence simply overwhelms my sense of humanity.

No matter what our problems as a society financially, we need to provide the support necessary to provide the services, shelter, and safety needed for the women and children in circumstances where they aren’t safe within their own homes. Are their lives really in danger? Yes, we don’t need to provide a certain numbers of deaths to make it clear that lives are in danger, do we? What should our society do when that danger is clear and the victims have no place to go?

Perhaps, we have allowed ourselves to become too dependent upon government to fund the needed programs and it hard now to admit the need to provide private financial support through our own donations. Perhaps, we have put the blinders on for too long and failed as men to take the responsibility to teach a level of respect and honor for the worth and dignity of the lives of children and women that will change the attitude that allows violence as an option in our relationships.

Perhaps, we need to stop looking for the one example that allows us to minimize the reality of the reality of the problem of sexual abuse and domestic violence in our society. It is time for men who are people of God to act in a manner that is consistent with our beliefs. A simple donation of $15 to the Council on Sexual Assault and Domestic Violence provides “a safe, secure, and comfortable living arrangement in which all a person’s basic needs are met.”

Most of us pay far more than that when we stay overnight in a hotel and motel. Yet, the feeling we will get from providing that night of safety will mean far more to us as human beings than the feeling we get from staying in a hotel on our vacation.

Please take a thoughtful, kind and loving moment to consider whether it is worth it to protect the lives of those in danger by making a donation to the Council on Sexual Assault and Domestic Violence. If you decide to make a donation the address is CSADV, PO Box 1565, Sioux City, IA 51102-1565.

In addition, as men and boys, shouldn’t we also ask ourselves as people of God to live up to our responsibilities by being strong, capable, and honorable while also being thoughtful, kind and loving? Shouldn’t women and children in our homes and in our company be able to feel safe, secure, and comfortable without fear of sexual assault or violence?