USAG Ansbach holds Purple and White Night to raise domestic violence awareness

By Mr. Bryan Gatchell (IMCOM)November 15, 2013

Purple and white night
1 / 4 Show Caption + Hide Caption – From left, Lyndsey McCrillis, Jake Night, their child, Cassandra Lymburner and Katie D'Imperio are recognized by Priscilla Nastasia for their efforts in putting on Purple and White Night Oct. 28. U.S. Army Garrison Ansbach held its 2013 Purple and Wh... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
Purple and white
2 / 4 Show Caption + Hide Caption – U.S. Army Garrison Ansbach held its 2013 Purple and White Night at the Von Steuben Community Center at Bismarck Kaserne Oct. 28. Lindsey McCrillis performs an interpretive dance during the event. The event's focus was on recognizing, reporting and pr... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
Purple and white
3 / 4 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Jake Night, left, and Lindsey McCrillis, right, perform an interpretive dance during U.S. Army Garrison Ansbach's 2013 Purple and White Night at the Von Steuben Community Center at Bismarck Kaserne Oct. 28. The event's focus was on recognizing, repor... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
Purple and white
4 / 4 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Chaplain (Maj.) Sean Moore speaks about the importance of reporting domestic violence during U.S. Army Garrison's 2013 Purple and White Night Oct. 28 at the Von Steuben Community Center at Bismarck Kaserne. The event's focus was on recognizing, repor... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL

ANSBACH, Germany (Nov. 14, 2013) -- Violence comes in many forms. Violence could be a physical assault, such as a full-weighted punch to the body. It could be the threat of assault, such as the brandishing of a knife for the sake of intimidation. It could be verbal abuse, such as yelling names or telling someone they are worthless. Violence committed at home between cohabitants, who under normal circumstances should be closer to each other than anyone else, is called domestic violence.

October was Domestic Violence Awareness Month, and to raise awareness of the important issue, Army Community Service hosted its third annual "Purple and White Nights" Oct. 28 at the Von Steuben Community Center at Bismarck Kaserne and Oct. 29 at the Storck Community Activity Center at Storck Barracks.

"Every one of you knows someone who has been yelled at, pushed, punched, spit at, and even locked in the house with no access to communicating with anyone," said Denise Mitchell, Army Community Service division chief at U.S. Army Garrison Ansbach.

The event included remarks by Chaplain (Maj.) Sean Moore, an interpretive dance by Jake Night and Lyndsey McCrillis and a speech by domestic abuse survivor Cassandra Lymburner. The goal of the event was to let the garrison know that preventing domestic violence is a community effort.

The theme of the night was "Recognize. Report. Prevent." This theme encompasses a community that acts in the interest of its members, especially those community members who are vulnerable to domestic abuse.

"The majority of people still feel 'Ah, that's really not my business,'" said Priscilla Nastasia, the Family Advocacy Program manager. "What we're saying is that it's really is all of our business. That impacts our whole community. If you choose not to call and report that, we're asking a victim, who is actually not in an equal relationship. You're leaving someone that's being victimized to save themself. As a community, that's our job."

Indications of physical abuse, according to Nastasia, are relatively obvious, whether that is loud yelling, broken furniture or bruises and other signs of bodily violence. It's the indications of abuse before actual violence that are more difficult to discern.

"If you are working or friends with an abuser, you might notice that they make disparaging comments about their [significant] other," said Nastasia. "You might notice that they may veil it in laughter. It typically makes most good, average people feel uncomfortable. Those are the things that can be noticed.

"Economic abuse, removing ID cards, removing access to financial resources," continued Nastasia, "oftentimes the abuser might brag about this. So when the community notices that, it's important we make a note at the time."

For those who notice the abuse, the military police are available to investigate.

"We need everyone in our community to report abuse as soon as it occurs," said Moore. "The military police are the reporting point of contact in our community. Help is available to victims of domestic violence at our local 24/7 helpline."

"The reporting point of contact on post is the military police," said Nastasia. "That activates the whole system. That even activates an advocate checking out a victim. So we want people to start reporting to the military police."

Cassandra Lymburner, a military spouse, spoke to the audience about her experiences growing up in a household with domestic abuse. Her mother physically and emotionally abused her father. Eventually Lymburner's mother turned the abuse on Lymburner herself. Her father, who worked long hours, did not see the abuse that was happening to his daughter.

"Most parents who are being abused never see what's happening to their children until it's too late," said Lymburner. "My abuse could have been stopped, but since my father never had a chance to know, it continued to happen."

Lymburner encouraged the community to speak out against abuse.

"Bystanders," said Lymburner, "stand up for others that are being abused. Ending domestic abuse needs to be a community effort."

To speak with a victim advocate, call 09802-83-3660 or DSN 467-3660. To report possible domestic abuse, call the military police at 09802-83-114, 09841-83-114 or DSN 114. To learn more or to find other points of contact, visit the link in the "Related Links" section of this story or at www.myarmyonesource.com/Events/DomesticViolenceAwarenessMonth.

Related Links:

Domestic Violence Awareness Month Army page