October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month, a time every year when people and organizations unite to raise awareness of domestic violence issues, advocate for change, celebrate survivors, and mourn those who have tragically lost their lives to domestic violence.

On October 20, join the County and help raise awareness by wearing purple, posting a picture on your social media accounts using the hashtag #PurpleThursday (and tagging @ArapahoeCounty), and adding any personal comments about the issue. These simple acts can be conversation starters that help people share and understand why ending domestic violence is so important.

What is Domestic Violence?

Domestic violence is the willful intimidation, physical assault, battery, sexual assault, and/or other abusive behavior as part of a systematic pattern of power and control perpetrated by one intimate partner against another. 

Data and Resources

In Colorado, nearly 37% of women and 31% of men experience some type of domestic violence. Did you know that on a typical day, local domestic violence hotlines across the US receive approximately 19,000 calls? That’s an average of about 13 calls every minute.

The County’s work in Human Services plays a critical role in helping protect at-risk children and vulnerable adults, and our professionals know too well the impact domestic violence has on those we serve.

The good news is that domestic violence is absolutely preventable. Whether it’s to help the families we work with or help a friend or family member, valuable resources are available. One of our efforts last year was the development of a webpage (www.arapahoegov.com/gethelp) on the County’s website to help raise awareness of the warning signs of domestic violence, to seek help for themselves and/or help others who may be victims of domestic violence.