The goal is to stop domestic and sexual violence before it starts. Sales of Peace Begins at Home license plates that were recently approved by the Virginia General Assembly will help pay for prevention programs targeting kids. Kate McCord, Virginia Sexual and Domestic Violence Action Alliance, said children as young as kindergarteners will get the message.
"We're talking about communicating clearly and listening to 'no,' and the kindergarten equivalent of healthy boundaries where your hands belong and where they don't belong," she said.
Congress has cut funding for programs that help domestic and sexual assault victims, she said, and prevention programs have long been starved for resources.
State Sen. Mark Herring (D-Loudoun) sponsored the legislation to create the license plates.
"People want to make sure that we're doing everything we can to interrupt the cycle of violence, and the best way to do that is to work on prevention programs."
McCord says the Virginia Tech massacre and the death of University of Virginia lacrosse player Yardley Love have raised awareness of the importance of violence prevention.
"Those two incidents only highlight for us the urgency in teaching children at a younger age about how to engage in healthy and respectful relationships."
More license plate information and the order form are available at www.drivepeacehome.org.
Source: Virginia News Connection
Alison Burns, Public News Service-VA
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