INDIANAPOLIS — Domestic violence spiked during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to the Domestic Violence Network, the number of calls to IMPD almost doubled between 2019 and 2020. There were fewer arrests for domestic violence, but the report says that was, in part, because jails had limited capacity due to COVID-19 restrictions.
Across central Indiana, there were roughly 13,500 calls to help victims of domestic violence, but there wasn't enough capacity across the five agencies in the area, so more than 1,000 of them didn't get help.
ASSIST Indiana, a nonprofit based in Franklin, provides support and assistance to Hoosiers who have experienced sexual, domestic and physical abuse.
To raise money for its vital mission, ASSIST Indiana went in a light-hearted route, utilizing a unique mascot: a brightly-colored toilet.
"The concept is 'flushing out violence,'" said Tracy McQueen, of ASSIST Indiana. "We've started this with a real actual toilet about three years ago. It didn't go very far because it was pretty heavy. It used to be that it was set in front of a business, and now, it moves, so it sort of has grown from there."
According to McQueen, 13 or 14 people participated in the first year of the fundraiser.
"Now, almost anybody who's anybody around here knows what this is about," McQueen said.
So, how do you raise money with a toilet? ASSIST Indiana came up with a series of payment plans:
- For $30, you can send the toilet to somebody.
- For $50, you can remove the toilet after it is sent to you.
- For $75, you can remove the toilet and pay it forward to give it to somebody else.
- For $100, you can remove the toilet, pay it forward and get insurance, so that if you become a frequent person whose named in the community, you can't get the toilet back.
ASSIST Indiana is also promoting the fact that the last Wednesday in April is recognized as International Denim Day in honor of Sexual Assault Awareness Month.
The campaign began 30 years ago after a ruling by the Italian Supreme Court where a rape conviction was overturned because the justices felt that since the victim was wearing tight jeans, she must have helped the person who raped her remove her jeans, thereby implying consent.
The following day, the women in the Italian Parliament came to work wearing jeans in solidarity with the victim.
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