Newsletter | February

Teen dating violence is a pattern of behavior where one person uses intimidation, threats of or actual physical, emotional or sexual violence in order to maintain power and control over their partner.


1 in 3 U.S. teens will experience physical, sexual, or emotional abuse from someone they're in a relationship with before becoming adults.


POV’s violence prevention programming is integral to our work. Our theme for TDVAM this year is: "Make A Choice to Build Healthy Boundaries." Our primary objective is to promote education on healthy boundaries and equip individuals with the necessary skills to establish and maintain these boundaries within their relationships with friends, families, and loved ones. Our Prevention team has been active in the community all month long, providing education in schools, at community events and fairs, and online. Follow our Instagram page for valuable tips on developing these essential skills, including Instagram live chats with our youth ambassadors. This year, we are excited to be hosting a video competition for high school youth throughout the month, inviting them to create videos highlighting the theme of healthy relationship boundaries. Winners will be announced next month - stay tuned to see the finalists!

We have also started preparation and recruitment for our Summer Youth Leadership Institute, a 6 week in person program starting in June for youth leaders. For further details and application procedures for these opportunities, email [email protected].


An occasion to celebrate


Black History Month stands as an occasion to celebrate and amplify the voices that have profoundly shaped our past, present, and future - Black voices. In February, we honor the resilience and accomplishments of African Americans in the face of historical and systematic adversity and recognize the immense cultural, social, and economic contributions made by Black individuals across various fields, including art, science, politics, and activism. This year’s theme for Black History Month is: African Americans and the Arts. While February is drawing to a close, we recognize the vital contributions that African Americans have made in the movement against violence and continue to amplify Black voices all year long.



25 Years of Social Change



Join POV and millions of individuals across the world that will wear jeans with a purpose, support survivors, and educate themselves and others about all forms of sexual violence. This year we will commemorate TWENTY FIVE YEARS of Denim Day. Founded in Los Angeles in 1999 by POV Executive Director/CEO Patti Giggans, Denim Day started as a grassroots campaign and has now grown into an international movement. Our updated Denim Day Action Kit and 2024 materials are launching next week. Stay tuned for updates so you can gear up to join us at our event here in LA or plan your own Denim Day! Click below to help us jumpstart our fundraising - all supporting intervention services for survivors and violence prevention education.

Fundraise for Denim Day

Become a volunteer


Peace Over Violence encourages caring and compassionate individuals from the diverse communities of LA County to become trauma informed Counselor Advocates working directly with survivors of sexual and domestic violence. 

Upon completion of the 82.5 hour training, you will be part of the Peace Over Violence Intervention Division’s Emergency Response Team, volunteering for either of the following programs: 24-Hour Hotline and Emergency Response Team or Domestic Abuse Response Team for a minimum one year commitment. The next training begins 4/30 and ends 6/15.

To apply and for information regarding the training, please contact: [email protected]


Share your story


Peace Over Violence's Survivor Speakers Bureau Voices Over Violence is a group of individuals that share and discuss openly and educationally their experiences with sexual assault, child sexual abuse, and domestic violence. Voices Over Violence also invites significant others, family members, and friends to share their experience with sexual and/or domestic violence/intimate partner violence as they experienced it while supporting a survivor. We often get requests from the community for survivors to speak about their experiences through presentations, panel discussions, and media interviews to educate the public about the realities of interpersonal violence. Speakers are able to address common myths surrounding violence, resources, and the healing process.

If you are a survivor of child sexual abuse, intimate partner violence, stalking, or sexual assault and would like to share your story, join us for an upcoming Voices Over Violence meet and greet on 3/13 that will cover application, interview, and training information. If you are interested, please contact Shirley LaBrie at [email protected] for more information and/or an application.


POV Reads

Raped, pregnant and in an abortion ban state? Researchers gauge how often it happens

By Selena Simmons-Duffin

As an abortion provider in Montana, Dr. Samuel Dickman has seen patients routinely who tell him they became pregnant after a rape.

Intimate partner violence is a precursor to homelessness, study finds

By Doug Smith

One in five women who become homeless in California flee their homes to escape violence and escalating abuse by an intimate partner, a new analysis of a statewide survey has reported.

Honoring our History: [Black] Leaders in the anti-sexual violence movement

By NJ Coalition Against Sexual Assault 

The anti-sexual violence movement has a rich history, one that began long before the feminist movement of the 1970s or the suffragists of the early 20th century.

Teen Dating Violence Awareness and Prevention Month

By Youth.gov

What Is Teen Dating Violence Awareness and Prevention Month?


CONNECT WITH US