“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere…
Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly.”
Martin Luther King Jr., Letter from the Birmingham Jail
Violence Prevention Center staff, board of directors, and volunteers are saddened and angered by the deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Oluwatoyin Salau, and the countless others who have been subjected to and/or killed due to violence and injustice in our nation. We recognize and appreciate the diversity of humankind and are aware that the systems and culture in our communities do not work to the same advantages for all.
At Violence Prevention Center, we know domestic violence, sexual assault, and human trafficking are rooted in oppression and are driven by one party obtaining and maintaining power and control over another. This oppression plays out in individual relationships, families, communities, systems, and affects each of us whether directly or indirectly.
We recognize racism and other oppressions have been and continue to be deliberately created and perpetuated in our society and are embedded in our institutions, systems, and responses to oppression. This oppression manifests to the core in our society to benefit those who are in positions of power. Simultaneously, this disempowers and eradicates those who are marginalized through erasure, and the continual blockade for those oppressed to gain power and control. This oppression is created through racism, homophobia, transphobia, xenophobia, misogyny, and more. Individuals in marginalized communities are at an alarmingly higher risk of being subjected to domestic and sexual violence and human trafficking due to these unjust oppressions present throughout our nation.
Currently in our country, there is a focus on law enforcement and systemic cultural reform within policing. While we agree there is a need for radical change, Violence Prevention Center values our relationship with our local law enforcement and are grateful for our strong partnership with the Cook County Sheriff ’s Department. We could not effectively do our jobs as a domestic and sexual violence agency without their much needed support and we appreciate their openness to dialogue regarding best practices for supporting those who have been subjected to domestic violence, sexual assault, and/or human trafficking. We hope the recent scrutiny of law enforcement across our nation will open opportunities for further collaboration and new, positive pathways for folks from marginalized populations seeking services.
Violence Prevention Center denounces white supremacy and is committed to anti-racism both within our agency and our community. As we work to end gender-based violence, we work, concurrently, to end the systems and societal norms that perpetuate this violence. Our core work includes addressing and working to end racism, white supremacy, colonialism, amongst all forms of oppression present in our communities. If we believe in the power to end domestic violence, sexual assault, and human trafficking in Cook County, we must also believe that these issues are tied to all other civil and human rights for each of our community members.
We believe everyone has the right to live free of violence regardless of age, race, gender, financial status, religion, ethnicity, ability, immigration status, sexual orientation, country of origin, socioeconomic status, gender expression/identity, relationship status, citizenship status, relationship identity, and criminal activity.
All of our work is rooted in the belief that individuals and communities have the right to be safe and this safety will come from a community that is highly aware and free of violence. We believe that everyone is born with inherent dignity. With that inherent dignity, all are endowed with equal and inalienable rights as members of the human family. These rights are the foundation of justice and peace in the world and the basis for all we do at the Violence Prevention Center.
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