Various Leagues

Issue Area(s): Domestic Violence

Metric of Success (if quantifiable/available): The work of the Junior Leagues contributed to the passage of the Family Violence Prevention and Services Act in 1984.

Overview

The Junior Leagues played a significant role in the passage of the Family Violence Prevention and Services Act, the first federal legislation to address domestic violence in the 1980s. Today, numerous Junior Leagues continue to work in substantive ways to educate the public about the problem and to prevent violence against women and their dependent children.

Community partners

• Various partners, including government agencies and women’s advocacy and self-help organizations

How it works

• Continuing a decades-long focus, The Junior League of Miami, in a public-private partnership with Miami-Dade County, operated transitional housing for victims of domestic violence called Inn Transition. Clients also received childcare support, education and job skills training, and mental health counseling. 
• The Junior League of Collin County developed the Teen Awareness Program in partnership with Turning Point, the county’s local rape crisis center, to deliver counseling for middle and high school students on topics such as sexual harassment, sexual assault, and dating violence. Also provided were resources they can turn to for help.
• The Junior League of Birmingham, in partnership with the YWCA of Central Alabama, developed the Children in Crisis program to provide a support group for children who have witnessed intimate domestic violence.

What’s the impact?

While it is hard to quantify results of so many different programs, the examples of what these Leagues have done to fight against this long-standing social issue demonstrate the power of community-level civic leadership.