BEVERLY EAVES PERDUE
GOVERNOR
DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AWARENESS MONTH and NATIONAL DAY OF UNITY
2009
BY TIIE GOVERNOR OF THE S I A'I E OF NORTH CAROLINA
A PROCLAMATION
W1 IEREAS, 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, approximately 1.3 million women and 835,000 men are physically assaulted by an intimate partner
annually in the United States, according to the U.S. Department of Justice; and
WHEREAS, local domestic violence programs in North Carolina responded to 101,076 crisis line calls and served
41,787 victims in FY 2007, according to the Council for Women/Domestic Violence Commission; and
WHEREAS, 131 women, men. and children were murdered in 2008 in domestic violence related homicides,
according to the North Carolina Department of Justice; and
WHEREAS, North Carolina ranked 13"' in the nation for the number of per capita homicides committed by men
against women in 2006. according to the Violence Policy Center; and
WHEREAS, it is estimated that anywhere between 3.3 million and 10 million children witness domestic violence
annually; and
WHEREAS, physical abuse during childhood increases the risk of future victimization among women and the risk of
future perpetration of abuse by men more than two-fold; and
WHEREAS, by working together we can break the cycle of violence and build communities that are safe for
everyone; and
WHEREAS, the statewide theme for Domestic Violence Awareness Month is Safe Families, Safe Communities',
NOW, THEREFORE, I, BEVERLY EAVES PERDUE, Governor of the State of North Carolina, do hereby proclaim
October 2009, as “DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AWARENESS MONTH” and October 1, 2009, as "NATIONAL DAY OF
UNITY” in North Carolina. I further urge our citizens to increase their awareness and education of this destructive force
which deeply affects a larg^ni^ni^ei^of families in our state each year and to become part of the efforts to stop violence in
families.
BEVERLY EAVES PERDUE
the
the
IN
Capitol in Raleigh
hereunto set my hand and affixed the Great Seal of the State of North Carolina at
in the year of our Lord two thousand and nine, and of the Independence of
United States of America the two hundred and thirty-fourth.
