(CLEVELAND, OH, 9/23/2013) — Some 500 people participated in a multi-faith program and walk around Public Square in downtown Cleveland Sunday to raise awareness about rampant violence against women in the local community and society at large.

At the event, a diverse group of women faith leaders from around the region called on the dozens of public officials and political candidates in attendance to sign a pledge of accountability to help end violence against women and children.

The event was timed to raise awareness in the run up to October’s national Domestic Violence Awareness month and Nonviolence Week, the first full week in October as designated in Ohio by Senate Bill 38 and signed into law by Governor John Kasich.

SEE: Women speak out against violence at Old Stone Church in downtown Cleveland

“Our goal as women of faith was to help raise awareness and call for divine help to empower our community to stand against the scourge of violence in Cleveland and beyond,” said CAIR-Cleveland Executive Director Julia Shearson who helped co-organize the event along with more than 40 women clergy and lay leaders from diverse faiths in the greater Cleveland area.

Representatives of more than 50 faith and community based organizations helped with the effort including: Anne Frank Moral Courage Project; As I Am Girls Club, 216395GIRL; Asian Services in Action; Association of Asian Indian Women in Ohio (AAIWO); Audacity of Hope Foundation; Beth El-The Heights Synagogue; Bilal Business International Group, LLC; Carl Stokes Brigade; Catholic Diocese of Cleveland: Office of Ministry to African American Catholics, Office of Ministry to Hispanic Catholics, Parish Life Office; Cleveland Nama Hatta Program; Cleveland Nonviolence Network; Cleveland Rape Crisis Center; Coalition for a Better Life, dba Peace in the Hood; Conference of Religious Leadership – Diocese of Cleveland; Congregation of St. Joseph; Council on American-Islamic Relations, Cleveland Chapter; Covenant Baptist Church; Dasi-Ziyad Family Institute; Domestic Violence and Child Advocacy Center; Eastview United Church of Christ; Emmanuel Apostolic Church; Evangelical Lutheran Church of America; Intercultural, Interfaith Initiative; Interreligious Peacemakers Dialogue; Islamic Center of Cleveland; Jack, Joseph, and Morton Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences, Case Western Reserve University; Jewish Family Service Association; Jijuyu-ji Zen Sangha of Cleveland and Jewell Heart Cleveland; Justice Committee of the Congregation of St. Joseph; Ohio Prophetic Voices; Old Stone Church; Organizing for America; Prayze By Design; Renee Jones Empowerment Center; Saint Mary’s Catholic Church of Berea; Salaam Cleveland; The Black Women’s Center; The Cleveland Baptist Association; The Cleveland Sight Center; The Collaborative to End Human Trafficking; The Sisters of Charity of Saint Augustine; The Sisters of St. Joseph of the Third Order of St. Francis; The Sisters of the Humility of Mary; Trinity Cathedral; United Church of Christ, Justice and Witness Ministries; Virtue Inc. for Women; West Shore Unitarian Universalist Church; Women Together in Ministry of Greater Cleveland

CAIR is America’s largest Muslim civil liberties and advocacy organization. Its mission is to enhance the understanding of Islam, encourage dialogue, protect civil liberties, empower American Muslims, and build coalitions that promote justice and mutual understanding.

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CONTACT: CAIR-Cleveland Executive Director Julia A. Shearson, jshearson@cair.com, 216.830.2247 or 216.440.2247