DoorwaysVA Blog

Our Interim Executive Director, Caroline Jones, was featured this week in the Arlington Connection. Caroline lays out the case for eligibility for protective orders to include dating partners. The Virginia Senate is hearing a bill right now that will accomplish just that. Find out how you can join the fight!

Read Caroline’s article in full:

Kudos to the Virginia General Assembly! They are taking important steps to improve legal protections available to domestic violence survivors. In the proposed legislation, Virginia lawmakers are seeking to broaden the terms of those who are eligible for protective orders by including dating partners. The bill would grant dating partners equal access and protection; the increased access many need to safely leave an abusive partner and redefine family abuse.

Currently, Virginia laws that are designed to protect victims of domestic or intimate partner violence too narrowly define what a relationship is, leaving a large percentage of people at risk. For instance, a person is only eligible for a protective order if (more…)

Not sure how you can help Doorways help domestic violence survivors? Well, you only need a minute. If you want to be the change you want to see in the world then watch below to find out what one minute can do.

Here at Doorways, we have been educating the community about healthy relationships for 30 years.  Namely through our Red Flag Campaign, we have told parents, teens and kids alike that a healthy relationship includes balance, communication, trust, connection and safety.

But, this is the day of love and we would love to hear about your idea of a healthy relationship!  We invite readers, donors, volunteers, and staff members to join the conversation.

What is a healthy relationship?

by Dominique Lamb, former Doorways intern

I dialed 911 for the first time when I was ten years old. My parents were fighting. I heard my mother scream louder than I’d ever heard so I dialed 911 and as my heart raced I told the operator that my father was beating up my mother. The police came and when I came downstairs, my mother lay there with a broken leg. She told the police that she’d slipped while washing dishes in the kitchen. She didn’t want to see my father arrested. It was seven years from that day until they were divorced.

When I was nineteen, I dialed 911 again. I had just been repeatedly hit on my shins by my boyfriend’s car, dragged out of the same car onto the ground, and pushed back down when I’d tried to get up. I told the operator that my boyfriend had pushed me and that I didn’t know where I was — (more…)

Those at greatest risk are the least protected . . .

Join Doorways in supporting legislation in the Virginia General Assembly that would expand those eligible for protective orders to include dating partners.

One of our former interns, Dominique Lamb, was featured in this Washington Post article where she articulated the need for broad legal protection.  We want you to join her in educating our community on dating violence and advocating for this new law.

Join us:

1. Donate to support our education and advocacy efforts of this critical issue
2. Volunteer for our programs
3. Write a Letter to the Editor for your local newspaper or favorite blog
4. Call your Representative in the Virginia General Assembly
5. Spread the word through Social Media by following us on Twitter and Facebook

Help Doorways protect all survivors of abuse, whether they are married or dating.  Abuse is abuse and we must say so.  If you want to help advocate on behalf of this issue, email Wyatt at wschroeder@doorwaysva.org