COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Some of the measures intended to help stop the spread of COVID-19 are making difficult times even more challenging for victims of domestic violence. Stay-at-home orders and social-distancing recommendations are believed to be linked to an increase in domestic-violence incidents, and also are making it more difficult for survivors to seek help.

Myriam Shaw Ojeda, fellow of policy and innovation at the Ohio Pharmacists Association, said that's why they are partnering with the Ohio Domestic Violence Network to raise awareness on the role pharmacies can play in increasing safety for domestic-violence victims.

"We are probably one of the most accessible health care providers to all of our patients at this time, and therefore it was a very good opportunity to combine forces with ODVN and try and help patients who are suffering at the moment," Shaw Ojeda said.

The Ohio Pharmacists Care about Domestic Violence Initiative is providing pharmacies with educational resources for domestic-violence victims during the pandemic, including flyers that can be dropped in medication bags with information on accessing housing, food, medical care and medications.

Shaw Ojeda said she's hopeful the initiative will open the door for patients to talk to their health care providers about safety. She said pharmacists know their patients and want them to have better outcomes.

"When someone is struggling with an unsafe environment at home, it does affect their health, it does affect other parts of their life," she said. "And so, as pharmacists we want to make sure that our patients have an overall healthy outlook, not just in relation to their medication."

Shaw Ojeda noted that about 100 Ohio pharmacies already have signed onto the effort, and they are conducting a massive outreach to get even more on board.



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BALTIMORE - This month marks the four-year anniversary of the #MeToo movement, and an art project aims to help incarcerated survivors heal by telling their own stories.

The group Just Detention International launched the "Prisoners Too" program last year with incarcerated women in South Carolina, who created butterfly murals to talk about their assaults. The group plans to bring the project to Maryland and other states.

Jane, a formerly incarcerated survivor from Maryland, said she wishes she'd had the opportunity to tell her own story 20 years ago. While facing drug charges in a Washington, D.C. detention center, she said she was raped multiple times by a prison guard. Jane's healing came only after sharing her story with a therapist, years later.

"It's important because people need to recover from things like that," she said. "I mean, this definitely affected the rest of my life. I think the Prisoners Too campaign can help support people who it has happened to, so they just don't give up on life and become depressed and even more hopeless."

She said the guard was never punished, which left her feeling unheard and traumatized.

Just Detention International is fundraising and expects to launch the program in other states this year. View the artwork and survivor stories online at JustDetention.org.

Jesse Lerner-Kinglake, Just Detention's communications director, said incarcerated survivors aren't allowed to share their #MeToo stories through social media, and they face other barriers to healing, including a public misperception that people behind bars deserve the abuse they suffer and don't have rights. He noted that sexual assault plagues U.S. prisons. Federal data show about 200,000 incidents every year.

"What we know, and I think what the #MeToo movement has shown us, is that there is a catharsis that comes with sharing your story, with being seen," he said, "and I think the amazing thing about #MeToo is that many survivors of sexual abuse realized that they had support, and they've realized that they weren't alone."

About 4% of adults in federal prisons and slightly more than 3% of adults in jails experience sexual victimization, according to the Maryland Coalition Against Sexual Assault. In Maryland, the number is higher: the Baltimore City Detention Center has a 6.7% rate of staff sexual misconduct.

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. - October is National Domestic Violence Awareness Month, and advocates want to shed more light on how Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer or Questioning survivors are often overlooked in discussions about violence prevention.

One in three women and one in four men are victims of domestic violence at some point in their lives, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data.

Hannah Mesouani - director of mission and equity consulting for the YWCA in McLean County - explained there's plenty of evidence of healthy straight relationships in the media, but far fewer examples of queer relationships.

"We already know there's a massive stigma around domestic violence for straight women in relationships with men," said Mesouani. "It's tenfold when it comes to queer folks, because we don't have solid representation of what good relationships look like."

U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin - D-Ill. - is among those calling for a bipartisan reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act, which expired in 2019. The U.S. House has already passed its version of the bill, which includes a grant program for initiatives specifically for LGBTQ domestic-violence survivors.

Mesouani added there are many myths and misconceptions about domestic violence. For instance, many people assume they're more likely to face violence from strangers, but the data show it's far more likely to be someone they know.

And the more conversations about domestic violence, she said, the better equipped prevention and support efforts will be.

"It's not an anonymous aggressor," said Mesouani. "It's not the stereotypical 'alpha men.' For us to acknowledge and to understand that domestic violence, intimate partner violence, has many different faces, helps us know how we can invest in our communities to create a safe community for everyone there."

Tomorrow, YWCA McLean holds a free, virtual training on Zoom and its Facebook page. The topic is the pressures facing LGBTQ youth, with suggestions for how to be more inclusive in violence prevention and education efforts.

CONCORD, N.H. -- Advocates for ending domestic violence urged Congress to renew the Violence Against Women Act and other federal legislation dedicated to supporting survivors.

It has been two years since the Act expired, and the House passed its latest bipartisan reauthorization bill in March. The Senate held a hearing on its version last week.

Lyn Schollett, executive director of the New Hampshire Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual Violence, said the legislation is key to making sure support and resources are available to Granite Staters.

"The Violence Against Women Act allocates really important funds for crisis-center services," Schollett explained. "And it also puts in place legal protections for victims in, say, in the court system or in prison and in other locations."

October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month, and the New Hampshire congressional delegation announced a little more than $2 million in federal grants coming to the state.

Schollett noted federal funding supports many services, from facilitating support groups to having an advocate to accompany people to court or engaging in outreach to let Granite Staters know help is available.

The Coalition has seen an increase in calls to the domestic-violence hotline during the pandemic.

Schollett pointed out New Hampshire has 12 community-based crisis centers throughout the state that respond around the clock, and they serve roughly 15,000 people a year.

"And that could be an individual who is currently being battered or harmed by someone in their household. It could be an adult who lived in a household that had domestic violence as a child," Schollett outlined. "Help is available in every community throughout the state 24 hours a day."

She added the free and confidential domestic- and sexual-violence helpline can be found at 866-644-3574.

New Hampshire recently launched a Text to 911 service, which proponents say can be a safer option for some people, including those who may be facing intimate-partner violence.