DVAM origins
The Battered Women’s Movement was a grassroots social movement that emerged in the 1970s to address domestic violence and advocate for the rights and safety of women facing intimate partner abuse. This movement laid the essential groundwork for Domestic violence awareness month. Before this time, domestic violence was often minimized or treated as a private family issue. Many women had little legal recourse or resources, and abuse was frequently ignored by the law and social services. The movement's activists helped form the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence (NCADV) in 1978. NCADV began organizing awareness events, including the first "Day of Unity" in October 1981, which eventually expanded into the entire month being dedicated to raising awareness about domestic violence. In 1987, October was officially recognized as Domestic Violence Awareness Month, with the Battered Women’s Movement and NCADV’s work inspiring and shaping this observance.