D.R.E.A.M.LIFE Inc. Promotes Domestic Violence Awareness Month in the District

One week after Stacey Jackson broke up with her boyfriend, she went upstairs to the bedroom in the house they shared and was handcuffed, beaten and held hostage with a gun for six hours. 

Her ex-boyfriend hog-tied her arms with neckties and covered her head in plastic wrap until she could barely breathe.  He then pushed Jackson onto a bed, smothered her face in a pillow and raped her.

 "I screamed out all the air I had in the first two seconds and then I went limp," Jackson said at a domestic violence awareness program. "I thought I was going to die."

"Hearts Beat...Love Doesn't" is an awareness campaign for domestic violence sponsored by Delivering Resources to Empower A Mother's Life, or D.R.E.A.M.Life Inc., a D.C. region non-profit organization that aims to empower young, single mothers. 

The "Awareness Hour" that took place at Sova Espresso & Wine on H Street NE was D.R.E.A.M.Life's second event for their campaign. About 15 men and women sat on vintage couches and cushioned chairs on the second floor of the cozy coffeehouse and listened to Jackson and two other domestic violence survivors share their stories of abuse. 

October is National Domestic Violence Awareness Month.Approximately 75,000 women in the District will become victims of domestic violence at some point in their lives, according to the National Institute of Justice and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Research indicates that one in four women in the nation will experience domestic abuse. 

D.R.E.A.M.Life's "Hearts Beat...Love Doesn't" campaign hopes to bring attention and educate the community about this prevalent issue facing women. The campaign features three events throughout the month of October, two of which have passed: a youth summit, an awareness hour and a fashion show coming up on Oct. 29.

Christina Sturdivant, the founder of D.R.E.A.M.Life, says one of the campaign's goals is, "to have people understand that it hits closer to home than you think."

For some women like Jackson, domestic violence hit directly at home.

At the awareness hour, some listeners sipped wine in their professional attire, skipping traditional happy hour to attend a more serious one.

Portraits of women adorned reddish orange walls. Car tires could be heard sloshing through puddles from the open windows behind a brown wooden table where three women sat. The rain beat down on the rooftop while Jackson described how her ex-boyfriend abused her. 

Jackson was a student at Virginia Common Wealth University when she started dating Kevin Scott*. She had known him since high school and he lived in her hometown of Newport News, Va.

It began as a long distance relationship, but after Jackson dropped out of school and moved back home, they started living together. 

"He was my best friend," Jackson said. "You know that guy who you think you're going to marry? That was him."

According to Jackson, Scott had never been physically abusive during their two-year relationship. But on Oct. 1, 2006, that all changed.

The audience was silent as Jackson recounted the horrific details of that day, the day when she was beaten and sexually assaulted by Scott. After Scott finished, Jackson said he started crying and apologized, saying that he was sorry and begging her not to call the cops.  She called her mom. 

As soon as her mother arrived, Jackson said she ran out of the house screaming with both of her wrists dislocated and her clothes covered in blood. 

"I've never felt that heavy in my life," Jackson said. "All I did was scream or sleep for the next six months."

Age is a Factor

Women age 16 to 24 are most likely to be victimized by an intimate partner, according to the National Institute of Justice and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

One of the reasons Sturdivant says D.R.E.A.M.Life chose to have an awareness campaign for domestic violence awareness is because her organization works with single mothers in DC belonging to that same age group.

In 2010, 5,465 people were served at the two Domestic Violence Intake Centers (DVIC) locations in 2010, an increase of approximately 15% from 2009 according to the District of Columbia Office of the Attorney General, 2011.  There was also a 26% increase in the number of DVIC/DVIC-SE clients served who were pregnant.

Sturdivant says she thinks young moms might be more prone to end up in violent relationships because they are more emotionally vulnerable.

"They might gravitate to the wrong kinds of guys while looking for security."