Denver mom is working to have signs of domestic violence taught in schools
While it's no longer Domestic Violence Awareness Month, that doesn't change the reality that survivors face every day. One Denver mom is pushing awareness year-round, and she says schools are the place to start.
"I am a survivor of domestic violence," says Joanna Rosa-Saenz. She left her abusive marriage in 2020. While the case against her abuser was dismissed, she says healing doesn't just happen in the courtroom
"Instead of crying about a situation that I have no power, I decided to come back and help our youth," says Rosa-Saenz.
Rosa-Saenz organized a weeklong domestic violence education program at her son's school The first week of October, all North High School 9th graders learned about gaslighting, love bombing, and grooming.
"Teaching them about what it looks like in dating or love bombing is something that's going to give them awareness. Just like in school they teach sex education, preventative measures. This is the same thing," says Rosa-Saenz.
"You don't know there's another way until you see it," says North Senior Arianna Montoya, who has a personal history with domestic violence. She says learning about it was healing.
"It helped me to realize what was wrong with my situation," says Montoya.
Students also heard from a panel of speakers, including school librarian Gilbert DeLeon, a former juvenile probation officer.
"I did carry a domestic violence caseload, and it was very eye-opening to me," says DeLeon. He spoke about how abusive behavior, while it may be normalized at home, is a crime.
"It's a cycle of violence, and it's a learned behavior that these kids are picking up on and ending up kind of in the system just like their parents," says DeLeon. Rosa-Saenz hopes education will stop the pattern.
"The only way to break that cycle is to educate our students," says Rosa-Saenz. She wants domestic violence to be mandatory learning in all schools. She's started a nonprofit to work towards that. On October 31st, she attended a proclamation by Denver's mayor recognizing domestic violence awareness and prevention in youth.
