Proclamation from Gov. Edmund G. Brown Jr., Oct. 10, 2012:

Law enforcement agencies in California receive more than 160,000 reports of domestic violence each year. Despite the staggering number of cases, this category of crime is mostly invisible, masked by the privacy of the home and the close relationships that exist between abusers and their victims. For this reason, public awareness is an important part of our response to domestic violence. Friends, neighbors, churches and other community-based organizations can be as effective as law enforcement in detecting abuse and reaching out to its victims.

Today, we rededicate ourselves to the cause of stopping domestic violence. There are hundreds of agencies and organizations throughout our state that provide outreach, shelter and counseling to domestic violence victims. By learning where to get help and being alert to the signs of abuse, we can each do our part in reducing domestic violence and preventing its most tragic outcomes.

NOW THEREFORE I, EDMUND G. BROWN JR., Governor of the State of California, do hereby proclaim October 10th 2012, as “Statewide Day of Awareness for Domestic Violence.”

IN WITNESS WHEREOF I have hereunto set my hand and caused the Great Seal of the State of California to be affixed this 9th day of October 2012.