Event in Elgin brings attention to domestic violence
More than 100 men and women wearing bright red scarves gathered in the rotunda entrance of the Gail Borden Public Library in Elgin Saturday for the third annual One Billion Rising for Justice: The Long Red Line to show their support of victims of domestic violence and to be a conduit to change personal and community attitudes toward violence.
The Long Red Line is Elgin's effort to support One Billion Rising, the global effort to raise awareness of violence against women.
Linked together by holding the red scarves they brought or borrowed on-site, participants snaked around in circles in the rotunda and out into the main lobby of the library led by Minister Lise Adams Sherry of the Unitarian Universalist Church of Elgin as upbeat music played.
Even though it was a heavy topic, the overall vibe of the event was one of positivity, strength and unity. Vicki Rae Harder-Thorne of Sleepy Hollow, the chairwoman of the event as well as a sexual assault survivor, said the message for this year's event was about “revolution, or change, and really how we can personally affect change in ourselves, in our communities. It is about change in how we treat each other on a daily basis.”
She added that change starts at home with how people approach and interact with each other, and “that being nasty, being violent in any way is not OK. It's like a gateway to other things.”
According to the 2010 Centers for Disease Control National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey, one in three women and one in seven men are victimized by rape, or other forms of violence.
Five speakers addressed the crowd, including domestic violence counselor/community educator Ruth Peterson of the Community Crisis Center in Elgin, who said she loves seeing “everybody coming together and really addressing the issues that are before us. Because you know what? We really need to move forward on this. Most of us are not abused, most of us are not hurt. But if we don't give a hand to those who are, they're going to stay there forever.”
For details, visit onebillionrising.org, or facebook.com/pages/One-Billion-RisingElgin/1444243415798899.