The domestic violence service providers of the city of Chicago kicked off Domestic Violence Awareness Month with a noon rally at the Thompson Center Plaza downtown yesterday.

Dolores Tapia, Sister Virginia Jung, OSB,  and Fr. Brendan Curran, OP, of HOPE at St. Pius V family ministries shared the podium with Mayor Rahm Emanuel and leaders of the Chicago Metropolitan Battered Women’s Network, which coordinated the event.

The speakers called for more action to protect victims from

Rally participants dramatize domestic violence-related deaths in Chicago.

violence within their own homes and families, while Dolores and Sister Virginia shared the story of how St. Pius V Parish developed services for immigrant women victims, their children, and for other family members.

The rally included a procession of masked figures representing the 57 victims in Chicago who were murdered in domestic violence crimes in the past 18 months.

More information about the domestic violence programs at St. Pius V is available here.