Our 14th annual March to End the Silence, October 18th
Many thanks to everyone who attended our annual
March and Candlelight Vigil at Beneficent Church
in Providence.
We are especially thankful to our sponsors:
Roger Williams University Womens Center
University of Rhode Island Womens Center
YWCA of Northern Rhode Island
...and thanks to our volunteers from Johnson & Wales University,
Roger Williams University & URI.
We are also grateful for the participation from our speakers:
Jennifer Stanley, Director, Womens Center,
Roger Williams University
Jen Longa Moio, Director, Womens Center,
University of Rhode Island
Meghan Grady, COO, YWCA of Northern Rhode Island
Debbie Kane, RI Highlands Bagpiper, friend of Marie Gonder,
RI Silent Witness 1994
and the RI State Police Department for providing our escort, along with the Providence Police Department mounted officers.
March and Candlelight Vigil at Beneficent Church
in Providence.
We are especially thankful to our sponsors:
Roger Williams University Womens Center
University of Rhode Island Womens Center
YWCA of Northern Rhode Island
...and thanks to our volunteers from Johnson & Wales University,
Roger Williams University & URI.
We are also grateful for the participation from our speakers:
Jennifer Stanley, Director, Womens Center,
Roger Williams University
Jen Longa Moio, Director, Womens Center,
University of Rhode Island
Meghan Grady, COO, YWCA of Northern Rhode Island
Debbie Kane, RI Highlands Bagpiper, friend of Marie Gonder,
RI Silent Witness 1994
and the RI State Police Department for providing our escort, along with the Providence Police Department mounted officers.
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The Silent Witness project
The Silent Witnesses of Rhode Island was formed in 1997 in response
to a call for each state in the US to create a Silent Witness project,
honoring and remembering the victims of domestic violence murders in
each state, in time to gather in Washington, DC for the first national
March to End the Silence on October 18, 1997. Every state in the US
already had a project, except RI.
Eight Rhode Island women met once a month, beginning in August 1997, and by October had created the first Silent Witness exhibit, with figures for each of the five women murdered in Rhode Island in 1992. A sixth figure was created to represent the Unknown Woman, for all those victims who were unidentified. On October 18th, 23 RI women gathered in Washington, DC with the more than 2500 other concerned citizens, carrying the more than 1500 Silent Witness figures from every state in the US and four countries, to honor and remember domestic violence homicide victims around the world.
Since then, Silent Witnesses of Rhode Island has gone on to create nine separate projects around the state. There are now a total of 109 Silent Witness figures, representing almost all of the documented domestic violence homicide victims in Rhode Island from 1980 through 2009. The Silent Witness silhouettes have been created by volunteers throughout the state of Rhode Island and the project has now become part of the RI Crisis Assistance Center. There are exhibits housed at Providence College, Roger Williams University, Johnson & Wales University, Salve Regina University, University of Rhode Island, Rhode Island College, YWCA of Northern RI, the Domestic Violence Resource Center of South County, Ponaganset High School and at RICAC.
In addition, SWRI is active in educating service providers and the public on the sometimes fatal consequences of domestic violence. We have stepped forward out of the darkness, and with respect and reverence for our Silent Witnesses, we tell their stories - because now we must be their voices.
SWRI Believes... :
Eight Rhode Island women met once a month, beginning in August 1997, and by October had created the first Silent Witness exhibit, with figures for each of the five women murdered in Rhode Island in 1992. A sixth figure was created to represent the Unknown Woman, for all those victims who were unidentified. On October 18th, 23 RI women gathered in Washington, DC with the more than 2500 other concerned citizens, carrying the more than 1500 Silent Witness figures from every state in the US and four countries, to honor and remember domestic violence homicide victims around the world.
Since then, Silent Witnesses of Rhode Island has gone on to create nine separate projects around the state. There are now a total of 109 Silent Witness figures, representing almost all of the documented domestic violence homicide victims in Rhode Island from 1980 through 2009. The Silent Witness silhouettes have been created by volunteers throughout the state of Rhode Island and the project has now become part of the RI Crisis Assistance Center. There are exhibits housed at Providence College, Roger Williams University, Johnson & Wales University, Salve Regina University, University of Rhode Island, Rhode Island College, YWCA of Northern RI, the Domestic Violence Resource Center of South County, Ponaganset High School and at RICAC.
In addition, SWRI is active in educating service providers and the public on the sometimes fatal consequences of domestic violence. We have stepped forward out of the darkness, and with respect and reverence for our Silent Witnesses, we tell their stories - because now we must be their voices.
SWRI Believes... :
- in a world free from violence and abuse
- in empowerment for women and the equal worth of all persons
- in the strength of numbers working together for a common mission - all are welcome to participate
- that the issues of violence and abuse are the responsibilities of the legal, community, social and political structures
- that together we can end domestic violence murders by 2020
