LIHUE — Traditionally, the YWCA of Kauai hosts a Domestic Violence and Week Without Violence with a candlelight vigil to honor victims of domestic violence.
But this year is different as the YWCA Kauai announced there will be no candlelight vigil during the YWCA Week Without Violence, which runs from Oct. 21-26
Instead, everything took place with Mayor Derek S.K. Kawakami presenting the proclamation for the annual observances at the Moikeha Building in the company of the YWCA of Kauai’s many community partners.
Financial trauma is one of the causes of domestic abuse and violence, and is the theme of the YWCA of Kaua’s Week Without Violence. The term is defined by The Power and Control Wheel describing economic abuse as preventing a partner from getting or keeping a job, making them ask for money, giving them an allowance, taking their money and not letting them know about, or have access to family income.
Domestic violence, as defined in the mayoral proclamation presented on Wednesday is the willful intimidation, physical assault, battery, sexual assault, coercive control, verbal and emotional abuse, financial abuse and other abusive behavior as part of a systematic pattern of power and control.
Domestic violence includes, but is not limited to intimate partner violence, or IPV, dating violence, stalking and family violence. Examples of these instances appear frequently on televised news stories in Hawaii, and highlighted by vigils and gatherings.
Across the nation, nearly 1 in 2 women, 40 percent of men, and 54 percent of gender diverse people have experienced intimate partner violence in their lifetime states information from the proclamation. The proclamation states that research has shown that women, LGBTQIA2s+ individuals, and Black, Indigenous, People of Color are at an increased risk for domestic violence victimization.
Coming closer to home in 2023, 18.5 percent of University of Hawaii students reported experiencing domestic violence while enrolled in the UH system, and nearly 7 out of 10 women have reported experiencing stalking by a current or former intimate partner.
The Kauai Police Department conducted 278 lethality screens in 2023, as part of the domestic violence Lethality Assessment Program or LAP program. Of the 278 assessments, 157 victims, or approximately 56 percent, were determined to be at high risk of serious injury or death by the abuse of their current or former intimate partners.
During the same 2023 period, the YWCA of Kauai provided services to 101 domestic violence survivors referred through the LAP program. In the same year, the YWCA of Kauai fielded an additional 396 domestic violence-related hotline calls offering an array of comprehensive services, including counseling, advocacy, shelter, bridge housing, Temporary Restraining Order support and financial empowerment classes.
The YWCA of Kauai also provided clinical domestic violence treatment to offenders through Alternatives to Violence programs.
The YWCA of Kauai and its network of community partners invites the community to take a firm stand against domestic violence during the two observances in October.
“During Domestic Violence Awareness Month, our goal is to center victims and survivors as we raise awareness, mobilize support, and encourage action from every sector of our community,” the YWCA Kauai said.
“We commend the voices and lived experiences of survivors, the unwavering commitment of advocates, and the solidarity demonstrated by supporters in our community.”
