City Councilwoman Laurie Cumbo (D-Fort Greene, Clinton Hill, Prospect Heights, Crown Heights) yesterday continued working to end domestic violence as she led the Eighth Annual Father’s Day Pledge on the steps of City Hall.
Joining the lawmaker were several members of CONNECT, the nonprofit organization that founded the annual event eight years ago with the mission of recognizing the roles that men and boys play in the prevention of interpersonal violence.
“We are here today to celebrate the strong, dynamic, upstanding men, who recognize that all forms of violence against women have no place in our households and no place in our society. They are standing up, they are speaking out, and they are showing and identifying what it means to be a true man, in all senses of the word,” said Cumbo
CONNECT, founded in 1993, uses a model of violence prevention designed to give men an active role in the conversation. With their guidance, men are taught to be healthy role models for their children, and promote an ideal of masculinity that isn’t based around violence and aggression.
Monica Abend, chief of staff to Laurie Cumbo, said that while there are plenty of violence prevention organizations across New York, few of them deliberately reach out to men like CONNECT does.
“CONNECT really looks at the male perspective when it comes to ending violence,” said Abend. “They specifically invite men to the conversation. There’s a lack of organizations that actually play a role in doing that line of work.”
With this in mind, CONNECT Co-Executive Director Sally MacNichol said that Cumbo was the perfect person to lead the event. According to MacNichol, the prevention of violence, particularly domestic violence, has been a major priority of Cumbo’s since she took office.
“Cumbo really understands the issue of intimate partner violence, and she understands the critical nature of men’s involvement,” said MacNichol.
More importantly, CONNECT’s model of gender justice, equality and peace, based on active cooperation between men and women, is one that Cumbo champions and endorses. In fact, Cumbo has appeared at every one of Connect’s Annual Father’s Day Pledges since she took office in 2013, encouraging men across the city to recognize the vital role they play in promoting nonviolence.
“We’ve been in this journey for the last four years,” said CONNECT Co-Executive Director Quentin Walcott. “This would not have been possible without her. We are very intentional about bringing men and women together as allies, to really interrupting cycles of violence in our homes and in our relationships.”
At the end of the meeting, Cumbo, Walcott and their colleagues invited every attendee to recite the following pledge:
“I pledge to never commit, condone or remain silent about domestic violence, intimate violence, and violence in our homes, schools and communities. I pledge to educate myself and others, and challenge abusive attitudes that condone disrespectful behavior or sexist and degrading language towards anyone. I pledge to take action to prevent and end all forms of violence with love and compassion, and without judgment. I pledge to love and inspire our family, friends and community; support our brothers and sisters and our youth in need of guidance.”
