News Release
September 28, 2026
Contact: lisa@prsolutionsdc.com, 202-371-1997
Domestic Violence Awareness Month Begins October 1. Futures Without Violence Has Strategies, Tools and Tactics to Address This Pervasive Problem.
Washington, D.C. – The statistics are sobering. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that more than 1 in 3 U.S. women, and more than 1 in 6 U.S. men, face physical violence, sexual violence, or stalking by a partner in their lifetime. Each year, more than 600 women in the United States are shot to death by a partner. A national survey from Futures Without Violence and the National Domestic Violence Hotline found that four in five (79%) survivors said domestic violence made it harder for them to work; and more than half (53%) did not disclose it to their employers due to fear of discrimination, job loss, or retaliation.
At Futures Without Violence, we’re innovating on several fronts to address this costly problem. As Domestic Violence Awareness Month approaches, we’d like to share some of them.
A Love Letter to Survivors: Our Love Letter to Survivors & Those Living With Violence or Abuse is a powerful, affirming tool for women and mothers facing violence or abuse. It offers five practical strategies to build resilience, and reminds viewers that hope and change are possible, even if they don’t happen all at once.
Financial Security for People Facing Violence: Many women don’t know if their states have adopted paid or unpaid leave, unemployment benefits, and other job protections for working people facing domestic or sexual violence, stalking, or other forms of abuse. We intend to change that. During Domestic Violence Awareness Month, we will start testing a new AI tool that makes it quick and easy for people to discover the protections available to them, no matter what state or territory they call home.
Health Cares About Domestic Violence Day is Wednesday, October 14 this year. Because more than three-quarters of domestic violence survivors talk to their health care providers about their experience with abuse, we take this day to mobilize providers and violence prevention advocates to work together, support survivors, and advance prevention. Our Healthcare Guide For (And By) Survivors is designed to support survivors of domestic and sexual violence during health care visits, offering trauma-informed recommendations about how to become proactive and advocate for their needs.
Improving Maternal Health: Our country’s maternal health crisis is grave and growing, and women in rural communities and pregnant women at risk for abuse are especially vulnerable. Homicide during pregnancy is one of the leading causes of maternal death. Cuts to Medicaid threaten to worsen the problem. Our health team, which pioneered the work to train health care providers to identify and support patients facing abuse, is developing practical, affordable strategies to support pregnant and parenting women in rural communities by engaging and training doulas, community health workers, home visitors, and others.
Remaking the Child Welfare System: Domestic violence is one of the most common risk factors for child maltreatment, but most child welfare agencies don’t know the best ways to address it and help children who’ve been exposed to this violence. Improving the child welfare system’s response to domestic violence, and building supports for families before they even come to the attention of child welfare, should be a high priority for the country. We’re creating tools, building coalitions, and developing strategies to make this change.
Building Supportive Environments for Boys and Young Men: For two decades, we’ve been working with coaches, campus leaders and organizers, and online community moderators to develop ways to transform everyday spaces for boys and young men into places of safety, honesty, and growth. We’re helping combat isolation and negative influences and building support, resilience and confidence among boys and young men. In the face of multiple challenges, we’re deepening and intensifying this work.
In addition, our team is training judges and developing tools to improve the response to elder abuse; and developing a groundbreaking new “from harm to healing” fatherhood program aimed at changing attitudes among men who cause harm.
Finally, our founder and president, Esta Soler has a unique vantage point on how our laws, priorities, and culture have changed in the years since she founded this venerable organization nearly 40 years ago, and the urgent work still ahead. Soler was a driving force behind enactment of the Family Violence Prevention and Services Act and the Violence Against Women Act. Her perspective on where we’ve been, where we are, and where we need to go is invaluable.
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For more information on these initiatives, please contact Lisa Lederer at lisa@prsolutionsdc.com, and she will be happy to connect you to the experts at Futures Without Violence.
ABOUT FUTURES WITHOUT VIOLENCE:
For almost 40 years, Futures Without Violence (FUTURES) has been building healthier, safer and more prosperous communities. More information is available at www.futureswithoutviolence.org
