Leading Together Partnership Breakfast to End Domestic Violence

October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month. In recognition of this, The Network: Advocating Against Domestic Violence hosts our Leading Together Partnership Breakfast to End Domestic Violence. The Network convenes our supporters, member organizations, champions, and community leaders to celebrate accomplishments and set bold goals for the future - to ultimately end domestic violence.

Keynote Speaker

The Network is thrilled and honored to announce the Keynote Speaker at our Leading Together Partnership Breakfast will be Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul.

As the 42nd Attorney General of Illinois, Kwame Raoul has been a consistent voice of justice and support for survivors of violent crime and sexual assault, a leader in the fight for women's equality and reproductive rights, a fighter for affordable healthcare, and much more. Among his many accomplishments to help sexual assault survivors, he strengthened protections for survivors through the Illinois Address Confidentiality Program, updated the Workplace Violence Protection Act, and supported the sexual assault survivors' bill of rights.

The Network is truly honored to welcome Attorney General Raoul as its keynote speaker.

Leadership Award Winners

We are pleased to announce our Leadership Award Winners, Senator Ram Villivalam and Representative Kam Buckner, for their leadership in obtaining transportation support for survivors. This past Spring session, they sponsored legislation which created the domestic violence and sexual assault Regional Transit Authority public transportation assistance program, where service providers of domestic violence and sexual assault services will be able to provide clients seeking services preloaded mass transit cards to use on Metra, CTA and Pace. The intersection of gender-based violence and transportation is crucial, ensuring that survivors have a means to flee violence and access the support services.

In 1983, domestic violence service providers created The Network: Advocating Against Domestic Violence (previously known as the Chicago Metropolitan Battered Women’s Network) in order to exchange information about local resources for domestic violence survivors and to share best practices in responding to their needs. The Network still maintains the grassroots focus of its early years, but it is now a coalition of over 40 domestic violence organizations, allied professionals, and community members serving domestic violence victims in Chicago and the Cook County region. The mission of The Network is to educate, organize, and advocate as a collaborative membership organization to end domestic violence and underlying oppression. The Network is leading the fight against gender-based violence by providing crisis services through the Illinois Domestic Violence Hotline, policy and systemic advocacy, and training for practitioners, as well as member and community education. As outlined in our policy platform, The Network seeks safety for all, and we stand for racial justice and equity. Bimonthly, the Network convenes its members to address common policy initiatives and improve resources to heal survivors and prevent violence in the Chicagoland area.

Questions?

Contact Aaz Ehmke, Director of Development & Communications, at aehmke@the-network.org.