October Newsletter

Dear Friends of Reclaiming Hope,

We’re excited to host our 5th annual Walking in Hope dinner this Friday, Oct. 10!

We hope you’ll join us at 6 p.m. (The charcuterie board will be available beginning at 5:45.) Limited tickets are still available. (We’re asking those ladies who like to wear dresses to please do so! No jeans, please.)

October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month
The 2025 Domestic Violence Awareness Month (DVAM) theme is With Survivors, Always.

Domestic violence breaks relationships, leaving fear, shame, and depression in its wake.  DV victims are often vulnerable to manipulation, intimidation, and, ultimately, control due to broken relationships at home. The abuser typically wants to exert power and control, the same as traffickers.

Traffickers often lure, pressure, or force victims into child trafficking by acting as someone who cares for them, such as a boyfriend. This can turn controlling, abusive, and exploitative, leaving the victims in a situation where they have no choice and are dependent upon their abuser.

An estimated 1 out of 4 women experience severe physical domestic violence by an intimate partner during her lifetime.  3 of 4 female victims of human trafficking had already experienced domestic violence before they were trafficked.

Domestic violence doesn’t just create victims of human trafficking; it also creates perpetrators.  The study, “From Victims to Victimizers: Interviews with 25 ex-pimps in Chicago,” by researchers Jody Raphael and Brenda Myers-Powell, found that 88% of those surveyed experienced physical abuse growing up, and 76% endured sexual abuse. Sometimes the abuse led them to leave home early and turn to exploiting others to survive.

Let’s keep our eyes open for signs of domestic violence and trafficking, such as:

• Personality changes, like low self-esteem in someone who was always confident
• Constantly checking in with or overly worried about pleasing a partner
• Skipping work, school, or time with friends for no clear reason
• Wearing clothes out of season, like long sleeves in summer to cover bruises and giving excuses for injuries 

From: The Link Between | Domestic Violence & Human Trafficking – ZOE International

There was a recent case in the French courts which began as domestic violence and progressed to trafficking. Ms. Pelicot’s former husband, Dominique Pelicot, admitted to regularly drugging her for almost a decade to rape her. It’s called “chemical submission” when someone is drugged in order to be victimized. He then offered her up to dozens of men he met on a website, since shut down, and videotaped them while they raped her.

Through Mr. Pelicot’s 20,000 photographs and videos of these encounters, the police tracked down 50 other men and charged most of them with raping Ms. Pelicot.

A majority argued that Mr. Pelicot had tricked them into believing they were going to the house for a consensual threesome. Mr. Pelicot maintained that they all knew she had been drugged.

All 51 were found guilty, including Mr. Pelicot, who was sentenced to 20 years. The rest were sentenced to three to 15 years. (NYTimes, Oct. 6 by Catherine Porter)

It’s a victory when victims are believed, and when law enforcement can find and punish those who took advantage of them!

Thank you for supporting us and working with us to give survivors hope. Let’s work together to stop both domestic violence and trafficking, especially in our community.

Sues Hess
Executive Director
Reclaiming Hope