By Gina Martinez
The Korean American Family Service Center held its 20th annual Silent March against Domestic Violence in Flushing last week.
The march began at the 109th Precinct and ended at the Flushing Library, followed by a press conference to raise awareness of domestic violence. KAFSC, whose motto is “Break the Silence, End the Violence,” is a non-profit organization in the Tri-state area looking to prevent and stop domestic violence. They provide bilingual hot lines, family counseling, legal advocacy and workshops for families.
The organization has held the march on the first Friday of October, Domestic Violence Awareness Month, to “speak of the unspoken” and break the silence around the violence happening in homes in the community for two decades. Nearly 200 participants attended the march, including Councilman Peter Koo (D-Flushing), state Assemblywoman Nily Rozic (D- Flushing), and City Councilman Barry Grodenchik (D-Oakland Gardens).
KAFSC marched through Main Street, in silence, holding banners and purple balloons. Once at Flushing Library officials held a news conference where speakers chanted “Break the Silence, End the Violence” in remembrance of those affected by domestic violence and “in honor of survivors with resilience and determination and to empower the community to work together to create happy and healthy communities.” KAFSC said.
According to the organization, the walk is intended to reinforce that domestic violence does exist in the Korean community, that domestic violence victims need to know their rights and that community organizations need to work together to prevent and end domestic violence.
Bomsinae Kim, KAFSC executive director, said she greatly appreciated the community’s support.
“KAFSC could not have done all the work without the community’s help,” she said. “In celebration of our 20th anniversary, I would like to ask for your continued support in bringing the community together to eradicate domestic violence and show that we, as a united team, are here to advocate for the victims and survivors.”
All throughout October KAFSC launched the “31 Days of Action” social media campaign. Supporters can post photos with their sentence “I break the silence because ..” on the KAFSC Facebook page, faceb
Rozic said she broke the silence because “raising domestic violence awareness requires all of us to come together in support of survivors who share their stories, advocates who further the cause, and policies that will make a long lasting difference in protecting and empowering New Yorkers” she said.
Assemblyman Edward Braunstein (D-Flushing) said he marched to acknowledge that domestic violence exists and that it is unacceptable.
“I break the silence because victims of domestic violence should know that organizations, such as KAFSC, are available to provide support and help them understand their rights.” she said.
Reach Gina Martinez by e-mail at gmart
