What will you be doing on 25 November this year?

When I grew up in the Lutheran church, violence was a topic we didn’t talk about. It was only when I was delivering food donations to a women’s safehouse in the 1990s when we lived in Esperance, Western Australia, that I first understood the need for awareness.

Since then, I’ve seen it in our congregations and in talking with pastors. I’ve read about it in the news and heard horrific stories from Australia and overseas. What am I talking about and how can we help?

25 November is the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, and it’s the start of 16 days of remembering and working towards changing this violence so that all people can live in safety and peace.

This violence includes domestic violence against women and girls in families, emotional and psychological abuse (coercive control), sexual assault, jailing and murder of women overseas who speak up for the chance to live with the freedom we have in Australia, the increasing level of human trafficking – especially sex trafficking, and elder abuse – the neglect and financial abuse of our seniors by their adult children.

Three simple ways to help are: prayer, and increasing your awareness of domestic and family violence, including coercive control – for yourself, and in your congregation.

Here are some resources to check:

• Common Grace is an Australian Christian website; look for the 16 days of activism – it provides reflections and prayers.
• Safer is a resource to help Australian churches understand, identify, and respond to domestic and family violence.
• Hurts Healing Hearts is our LCA DV prevention campaign and resources.
• For those with an LCA email, there is also an online domestic violence awareness unit in the ALC Learning Hub streams.

Angela Mayer is a member of the LCA DV Prevention Taskforce.