MICHAEL F. EASLEY
GOVERNOR
DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AWARENESS MONTH
and
NATIONAL DAY OF UNITY
2008
BY THE GOVERNOR OF THE STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA
A PROCLAMATION
WHEREAS, domestic violence is a pattern of control in an intimate relationship where one person uses coercion and
violence to gain power and control over their partner; and
WHEREAS, domestic violence includes not only physical abuse, but also mental abuse, emotional abuse, financial
abuse, isolation, and sexual violence; and
WHEREAS, women of all races and socioeconomic backgrounds are vulnerable to violence by an intimate
partner; and
WHEREAS, according to a Commonwealth Fund Survey, nearly
1/3
(3 1 percent) of American women report being
raped and/or physically assaulted by a current or former spouse, partner, or date at some time in their lifetime: and
WHEREAS, on average, more than three women are murdered by their husbands or boyfriends in this country every
day, according to the US Department of Justice; and
WHEREAS, according to the North Carolina Coalition Against Domestic Violence, in North Carolina alone, over 500
women, men. and children have been murdered as a result of domestic violence since January 1. 2002; and
WHEREAS. NC ranked 1 1
л
in the nation for the number of per capita homicides committed by men against w'omen
in 2005. up from a ranking of 15* the year before, according to the Violence Policy Center: and
WHEREAS, according to the Women's Institute for Leadership Development for Human Rights, high rates of
poverty, poor education, limited job resources, language barriers, and fear of deportation increase the difficulty in finding help
and support services for women of color; and
WHEREAS, according to the North Carolina Coalition Against Domestic Violence, understanding all forms of
oppression will lead to the social change necessary for the elimination of the institutional, cultural, and individual oppressions
that contribute to domestic violence:
NOW, THEREFORE, I. MICHAEL F. EASLEY, Governor of the State of North Carolina, do hereby proclaim
October 2008, as “DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AWARENESS MONTH" and October 1. 2008. as “NATIONAL DAY OF
IN WIT
the Capitol in Ral
United States of
/
UNITY" in North Carolina. I further urge our citizens to increase their awareness and education of this destructive force
which deeply affects a large number of families in our state each year and to become part of the efforts to stop violence in
families.
MICHAEL F. EASLEY
/
Have hereunto set my hand and affixed the Great Seal of the State of North Carolina at
f September in the year of our Lord tw o thousand eight, and of the Independence of the
dred and thirty-third.
