The 25th Annual Victory Over Violence Run/Walk

The Women’s Center is hosting its 25th Victory Over Violence (VOV) Walk/Run on Saturday, April 9, 2022 at the Trinity Park Duck Pond in Fort Worth. The event begins with a 1K fun run at 8:00 am followed by a 5K walk/run at 8:30 am.

The race kicks off a month-long recognition of Sexual Assault Awareness Month and Child Abuse Prevention Month. “After a 3-year hiatus, we are excited to be back this year at an event that means so much to survivors of violence. So many Tarrant County families use this as a way to honor the lives of loved ones who have experienced violence. For survivors, it is a way to bring awareness to the very real issue of sexual assault, childhood sexual abuse and domestic violence,” says Women’s Center President and CEO Laura Hilgart.

LaTasha Jackson-McDougle echoes this sentiment. In 1984, after ongoing assaults and stalking, she witnessed her father take her mother’s life along with his own; leaving LaTasha for dead. Now, 38 years later, she honors her mother’s memory by coordinating team Cheryl’s Voice to participate in the event, named for her mother – Cheryl Williams-Saddler.

“I personally connected with The Women’s Center through VOV. My first year, 2012, I participated with a few friends. The second year, I formed a team called ‘Cheryl’s Voice’, which has grown steadily. At its highest, the team had 65 members.”

Her experience helps her remember year after year why the funds raised at VOV are so valuable. “I see where the money is being used, such as providing counseling and doing the work of helping survivors. It’s a great cause and a way for me to make sure my mom’s voice is being heard throughout the world,” said LaTasha.

For Laura, this 25th race is especially significant. “I had the privilege of being at that first race in 1997, where we had about 1,000 participants and raised $40,000. It is amazing to see it grow from that to over 3,000 runners and raising more than $140,000 at our last event. What is even more remarkable is what we’ve been able to accomplish over the past 25 years with the proceeds from the race,” says Hilgart.

In the past 25 years, proceeds from the race have:

• Educated more than 2 million children through the Play it Safe!® program on how to recognize, respond to and report abuse. More than 3,300 children have disclosed abuse to Women’s Center trainers in that time;
• Provided hospital accompaniment to 13,000 women and men during their forensic rape exam;
• Enabled a 24-Hour Rape Crisis Hotline, which has answered 66,000 calls, and;
• Provided individual and group counseling to more than 23,000 women, men and children, including, their parents, significant others and family members.

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To register for the 2022 Victory Over Violence Walk/Run or make a donation to The Women’s Center, visit https://www.vovfw.org/. For people that are unable to attend VOV, they can still show support by donating to The Women’s Center, and by participating in the national Sexual Assault Awareness Day of Action – which takes place on Tuesday, April 5th. “Each national day of action, we Turn Tarrant Teal by asking the community to wear their teal to help bring awareness to issues around sexual violence,” says Hilgart.

The Women’s Center hopes to raise awareness on these startling statistics:

• Every 73 seconds, someone in America is sexually assaulted (RAINN.org).
• Nearly one in three Texans will experience sexual assault in their lifetime, with women being twice as likely to be victimized as men.
• One in four girls and one in six boys experience some form of sexual abuse before their 18th birthday.
• Eight out of ten rapes are committed by someone known to the victim (RAINN.org).