As Father's Day Nears, Blue Shield of California Educates Employees About Preventing Relationship Abuse

Leading Violence Prevention Agency Lauds Blue Shield for Powerful Employee Education on Abuse

SAN FRANCISCO, June 7 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- A Bay Area company is blazing a trail for other businesses that want to take a stand for respectful relationships and help stop domestic, dating and sexual violence in our communities.  Blue Shield of California, a not-for-profit health plan, is dedicating this entire week to spread awareness about relationship abuse and emphasize the need for adults to serve as role models for the youth in their lives.  The Family Violence Prevention Fund (FVPF) is praising the company for its leadership in domestic violence prevention.

"Blue Shield of California is doing extraordinary work to stop domestic violence and help employees understand the role they can play in building respectful, non-violent relationships in their families and communities," said FVPF President Esta Soler.  "It is a role model for companies that want to take a stand on this issue.  We are enormously grateful to Blue Shield for making a long-term commitment to helping end abuse.  They are a dedicated partner that is doing remarkable work on this issue."

From June 7-11, Blue Shield is participating in a variety of activities focused on education, general awareness and fundraising to support prevention. Blue Shield employees are encouraged to sign a RESPECT! Declaration; donate a cell phone to Verizon Wireless' HopeLine program; watch a video to learn how to talk to a teen about the need for respect in relationships; send an e-card to help build a society based on respect; and text the word "respect" to 41010 to donate $5 to the Family Violence Prevention Fund.

To go with the RESPECT! Declaration, the FVPF has developed RESPECT! Tools – a collection of tips, information and conversation starters to help parents, coaches, teachers, mentors and others talk to children about healthy, loving, respectful relationships.  They include:

• Ten quick tips for parents on how to talk to your kids about healthy relationships;
• A guide for how to talk to a child of any age about the importance of respect in healthy relationships;
• Ten 'Dinner Table Topics' using everyday examples to talk about the importance of respect in relationships;
• A quiz for parents to assess whether they are modeling RESPECT! behavior at home;
• A quiz for teens to help them determine whether or not they or their friends are in healthy relationships;  
• A list of warning signs that a child is in an unhealthy relationship;
• RESPECT! Declaration for Families; and
• RESPECT! Wheel, a guide to healthy relationships.

"Kids learn from their parents and from other adult role models," Soler added. "That's why, as we approach Father's Day, we are emphasizing the need for us all to teach compassion and talk to our children about how they should behave.  Emphasizing that violence is never okay is a key step in creating a world free of violence."

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, nearly one in four large private industry establishments (with more than 1,000 employees) reports at least one incidence of domestic violence, including threats and assaults, in the past year.  The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports 1,200 deaths and two million injuries to women from intimate partner violence each year.  The U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics reports that, on average, four women are murdered by their husbands or boyfriends each day in this country.  

The Family Violence Prevention Fund works to end violence against women and children around the world, because every person has the right to live free of violence.  For more information, visit www.endabuse.org.

The RESPECT! Campaign is a Family Violence Prevention Fund initiative to advance a national movement to promote healthy relationships and stop relationship violence through positive role modeling and respect education.  Macy's is the National Founding Partner and Blue Shield of California is the California Founding Partner of the RESPECT! Campaign which encourages individuals to help prevent and end domestic and dating violence, sexual assault, and other forms of relationship abuse by talking with young people early and often about respect, and modeling that behavior in their own relationships.  Through conversation guides for parents, lesson plans for teachers, tools for coaches, and other instructional "Respect Tools," the campaign offers a variety of resources to support moms, dads, teachers, coaches, and other role models who have critical roles to play in helping our sons and daughters shape a world that is free of relationship violence.  To learn more, visit www.GiveRespect.org. To sign the RESPECT! Declaration, visit: http://pledge.giverespect.org/.

SOURCE Family Violence Prevention Fund