(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.


