Domestic violence can affect anyone no matter one’s race, age, or gender and at any time. I think that it is especially important to raise awareness towards domestic violence during the COVID-19 pandemic. During this time domestic violence is rising, but cases are dropping. Many cases are unreported because victims have few private moments to make calls. A victim’s safety may have been school or work. But now that schools are closed and people are unemployed or working from home this creates an unsafe environment for many. During this time, families are confined in their homes where a victim can’t escape an abuser. Domestic violence awareness is an attempt to make every home a safe home.

Beta Chapter has created a video to raise awareness towards domestic violence. Throughout the video each Sister has a sentence from a poem written on a piece of paper. It is an emotional poem about an individual sharing their experience in a violent relationship. We chose to write the poem instead of reading it aloud because it symbolizes how many victims are silenced. Victims may not have the power or the ability to speak up about their abuser. The purpose of this video is to remind victims that they are not alone and that their voices are heard. We hope that the video will also educate people on how domestic violence can affect an individual. I feel that because it is an emotional topic for some people to discuss it is often avoided. We hope that this video allows people to understand that domestic violence is a real and serious issue. If you are interested in watching the video check out this link!: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vIeEIihwCAA

It was a good feeling knowing that quarantine did not prevent Sisters from raising awareness. Even though there are many things that are stripped away from us during the pandemic our passion for our philanthropy will always remain.