Sexual violence: One is too many

This week the CDC released findings from a National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey. It is an alarming and sobering report that has significant implications for our communities and our work. According to the report, one in four women reported having been beaten by an intimate partner, one in five women have been raped or will experience an attempted rape at some point, one in six women have been stalked, and one in 71 men have been raped, mostly when they were under the age of 11. One is too many.

The recent report affirmed that intimate partner and sexual violence against women remains endemic in the United States. Studies such as this one are a bold reminder that we have a long way to go to change the social norms that allow intimate partner and sexual violence to endure. The Idaho Coalition Against Sexual & Domestic Violence is committed to engaging voices to create change in the prevention, intervention, and response to domestic violence, dating violence, stalking, and sexual assault. In October, in response to the alarming increase in intimate partner fatalities in Idaho this year, the Idaho Coalition launched a statewide campaign: One is Too Many: Connect to End Domestic & Sexual Violence.

In November, the Idaho Coalition hosted the Idaho Summit on Sexual Violence where 850 professionals came together to improve prevention and response to sexual violence, challenging work in a society that sometimes sanctions sexual violence - in the locker room, at the university, in the workplace, in the local bar - and in a society where much of media promotes the objectification and oppression of women and traditional constructs of manhood that create environments where sexual violence is tolerated.

And in December, Jacksons Food Stores launched the annual Give the Gift of Peace Dove Campaign to raise funds for the prevention and response to domestic violence. During this holiday season, customers can purchase a paper dove. At the end of the campaign, Jacksons Chief Executive Officer John Jackson will match customers' contributions dollar for dollar. Already in the two weeks of December, Jacksons Food Stores in Idaho sold 18,382 doves, representing the power of more than 18,000 Idahoans and one extraordinary community partner to create change. Jacksons Food Stores, like the store at Vista and Sunrise where more than 1,500 doves have been sold, reminds us that each of us has the power to create change. Community support to end intimate partner violence and sexual assault, such as the support received by Jacksons Food Stores, is a bold reminder that we all have the power to change social norms that allow domestic and sexual violence to endure.So it was tragic reminder that we need to have so much work to do when the newspaper reported that a woman sought help at a Jacksons Food Store last week in Nampa with burn injuries after her boyfriend doused her in flammable chemicals and set her afire.

The ongoing and tragic incidents of domestic and sexual violence in our community's underscores how critical it is that we stand together to end domestic and sexual violence. So, this holiday, connect with people in your life and encourage anyone in an unhealthy or abusive relationship to get help. Contribute personally to end domestic and sexual violence - give to your local domestic violence program or go to a Jacksons Food Store and buy a dove, because of what is at stake - our relationships and our communities.

Kelly Miller is executive director of the Idaho Coalition Against Sexual & Domestic Violence.