With friends and family members applauding, about 90 elegantly-dressed women walked a white carpet Saturday in Montgomery County, Maryland, celebrating their newfound voice to counteract domestic violence.
Each wore a stylish hat, called a “Hat of Strength,” symbolizing their personal journey and newfound empowerment during Saturday’s event at the county’s police headquarters.
“This all started really because six brave women approached us at different times throughout the year,” said Mariela Leon, the Hispanic community liaison for Montgomery County.
The women were all “victims of domestic violence, sexual assault or rape,” according to Leon, and had reported the crime because they felt “afraid, alone.”
Leon, herself a childhood victim of sexual assault, recognized her own ability to speak out had played a central role in her healing. She felt compelled to provide a voice for other women survivors.
First six, then 40, then 90 women stepped forward to take part in the program of workshops called “Voces Importantes” — Important Voices — a message to the women that their stories mattered and they need not suffer alone.
The women took part in a monthlong program of workshops at the police training academy, designed to empower survivors of domestic violence.
“We’ve met every week in the month of October … did different workshops, just teaching about different things, from all the resources the county offers in the police department for victims of sexual assault, rape or domestic violence, but also talked about the financial aspect,” Leon said.
The workshops aimed to teach the survivors that “they have power, they have skills” and show them how to “start making your own income … because a lot of the reasons they stay in those relationships are because they’re not financially independent,” Leon added.
Therapists and counselors from the Department of Health and Human Services were present every week throughout the program to offer support.
Police explained that this particular outreach was aimed at victims reluctant to contact law enforcement, specifically in the Hispanic communities of Gaithersburg and in the southern part of the county.
“I’ve seen this kind of stuff before, and I’ve seen people who have been reticent to come to us because of their past experiences with law enforcement,” said Capt. Jordan Satinsky, director of the Montgomery County Police Department’s Community Engagement Division. “This was one of those workshops that really brought those people together,”
Satinsky is a former homicide investigator. He created and supervised the department’s sexual assault unit and also redeveloped the police department’s domestic violence unit.
“When I first started in ’99, domestic violence was one of the most responded to calls we had, and many of the things that we did in law enforcement and even our judicial system … it was looked at more as a family problem,” Satinsky said.
However, according to Satinsky, “that mantra started to change” over time.
“We’re here to help, and we really are open. We want to help. We’re not here to judge. We’re here to assist and get you the resources,” he said. “If you call the police and want our help, we’ll help. If it’s something that we can’t help you with, for whatever reason, we will get you to the right resources.”
At Saturday’s event, a jazz duet of tenor and alto saxophones blew cool tunes, alongside singing and dance performances.
“This program doesn’t end just in the month of October. We’re going to continue meeting, to figure out what they need based on that,” Leon said. “We’re going to be connecting with other partners to provide them with those resources as well.”
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