Letter Template for DV Awareness

Equalitarian62 writes, "October is Domestic violence awareness month in the United States. Last year I created a letter template that could be sent to media outlets across the USA. My own letter was published in the Denver Rocky Mountain News. I am sending an edited (more concise) version to the Denver Post this year (it had to be less than 200 words). Those of you in the United States are urged to contact as many media
outlets as possible (newspaper, radio, TV, magazines, etc.). My
template may be used, or you can modify it or write your own letter
or email." To view the sample letter, view the Read More section below. Making use of a sample letter like this takes only minutes, and can make a big impact in numbers. Please help inform the media that domestic violence is not a gender issue, but a human one.To the staff at [insert media outlet here]:

As you are probably aware, October is Domestic Violence awareness
month. Domestic violence is a serious issue that affects both men
and women. However, the media has traditionally concentrated on
those cases where women are victims and men are abusers. Many
people are concerned about the lack of coverage of male victims.
Here are just three facts to consider:

- Each year, 1.5 million American women are severely assaulted by
their "intimate partners." It is less known that 835,000 men are
also assaulted annually.

- Women and men assault each other with roughly equal frequency.
This would make the difference in the above figures even closer to
parity. However, women are somewhat more likely to be injured, and
are more likely to report such injuries to police.

- Many women's shelters exist in the United States and other Western
nations, but there are very few shelters for men.

Domestic violence hurts us all, either directly or indirectly.
While it is important to maintain coverage of women victims,
proportionate coverage should also be given to male victims.

I hope that you will take these opinions into consideration in
future reports.

Sincerely,

[Your name, contact info, etc]

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