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October is well-known for being Breast Cancer Awareness Month, as pink seems to take over take over everything.

But this month is also Domestic Violence Awareness Month, which is just as important but probably gets a little less press. It’s not a topic anyone wants to talk about, but just like breast cancer it’s a problem everywhere, including in Troup County.

According to the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, nearly 20 people per minute are physically abused by an intimate partner in the United States. If you equate that out to one year, it equals to more than 10 million women and men.

One in four women and one in nine men experience severe intimate partner physical violence, intimate partner contact sexual violence and/or intimate partner stalking with impacts such as injury, fearfulness, post-traumatic stress disorder, use of victim services, contraction of sexually transmitted diseases, etc., according to the NCADV.

Sadly, one in 10 women have been raped by an intimate partner and one in seven women have been injured by an intimate partner.

The Center for Disease Control recommends teaching safe and healthy relationship skills, with a focus on social-emotional learning programs for youth and healthy relationship programs for couples.

Other steps include creating protective environments — including improving school climate and safety, improving organizational policies and work place climate and modifying the physical and social environments of neighborhoods. The CDC mentions strengthening economic supports for families and supporting domestic violence survivors through numerous steps and programs.

Domestic violence has no place in our communities, and we should all take a stand against it.

If you know someone who needs help with domestic violence, they can call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800 799-7233.