Santa Clara Marks No More Week

This week (March 2-8) is international No More Week, a week designed to help stop domestic and sexual violence worldwide. At last week’s Santa Clara City Council meeting, the council issued a proclamation recognizing No More Week.

Sheri Ostdiek, a domestic violence awareness advocate, was the driving force behind bringing No More Week to the attention of the council, and she was there on Feb. 25 to accept the recognition from the council.

“It [domestic violence] doesn’t care what color skin you are. It doesn’t matter how much money you have. It happens to everyone, and it’s hard for most survivors to talk about it because it’s very embarrassing,” said Ostdiek. “It’s embarrassing that it happens to you. It’s embarrassing to admit what they’ve done to you, so survivors don’t speak. And that’s why this year focuses on speaking up and no more silence.”

One of the goals of No More Silence is to remove the stigma, shame and secrecy that often surrounds domestic and sexual violence survivors. It’s not just about survivors speaking up and telling their stories, but also the people around them.

Ostdiek says No More has a website and podcast to help people learn about domestic and sexual violence, even if they aren’t personally experiencing it. She says that through No More, you can learn how to be an “engaged bystander,” someone who safely and meaningfully intervenes.

“To help you know if a friend or family member is suffering. What can you do? What’s the right thing to do and the wrong thing to do? What’s the bad things you can say, or the good things you can say? And, what can you do for them?” said Ostdiek. “Also, just recognize that if you were in a room with six women, two of them have been affected [by domestic or sexual violence] once in their lifetime.”

On the No More website (www.nomore.org), survivors are invited to share their stories anonymously and to read the stories of other survivors. The site includes a prominent “Safety Exit” button, which will immediately open a new browser to a recipe site and redirect the No More site to a shopping website.

According to the American College of Surgeons, intimate partner violence is the leading cause of serious injury and death among women ages 18-24 in the United States. What’s more, these women are at an increased risk of developing major depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, attempting suicide and abusing drugs and alcohol.

And it’s not just isolated to women. The No More website reports that according to the CDC, “… over half of women and almost one in three men have experienced sexual violence involving physical contact during their lifetimes.”

While No More Week happens every March, the movement to help bring awareness to domestic and sexual violence is year-round.

The National Domestic Violence Hotline operates 24/7 and is available in more than 200 languages through interpretation services. For more information, call (800) 799-7233 or text “Begin” to 88788.

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