The sound of marching drums resonates down Fourth Street in San Rafael, as a raucous and celebratory procession of men and women march by. Some carry signs reading “Practice Non Violence” and “Celebre MAWS.” Most carry green and purple balloons, which float along behind them, sparkling in the sun.

They are a diverse group. People shout in Spanish, a young, pierced couple chat and smile, old women in floppy sunhats stroll, and children run at knee-height, weaving between the legs of the crowd. Two stilt walkers tower above, lumbering down the street. One wears a glittering silver wig and bright magenta pants, gathered in little puffs over the stilts: the other is decked out in all green, complete with a green, spiky wig.

They seem to be fueled by the Margaret Mead quote that sent them off: “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has.” The crowd moves as a singular, cheering, bullhorn-toting force, uniting today to take a stand against domestic violence.

Today is the 30th anniversary of Marin Abused Women’s Services (MAWS), which has come a long way since its inception in 1977 as a 24-hour emergency hotline. The San Rafael based nonprofit organization offers a variety of services to Bay Area women and men in violent relationships, and participates in policy-making on national, state and county levels. Their anniversary event brings out support from Cecelia Zamora, the executive director of the Marin Latino Council, and the Marin County D.A., Ed Berberian, who notes that domestic violence is the number one crime in Marin County.

“It’s really great to have so many community leaders supporting the event,” says Carolyn Kahill, as she makes her way down Fourth Street with her mother, Kathy King. “Now it’s time to wake up the rest of the community.”

Behind them, a group who calls themselves the “Dominican Grrls,” seems to be doing just that. Glammed-out in black dresses with do-it-yourself pageant sashes, the young women shout out cheer after cheer, some with bullhorns. “Hey hey! Ho ho! Domestic violence has to go!” Then they collapse into good-natured giggles between chants.

“We’re a women’s issue group looking to increase awareness about feminism with the new generation,” says Maggie Benedict, one of the Dominican Grrls. “Although feminism has a negative image, we want people to know it’s just about equality.”

Between cheesy Lifetime Television dramas and sensationalized news coverage, it’s easy to become desensitized to the issue of domestic violence, but a look at the numbers is a harsh reminder that it is a common and pressing issue for women. A 1998 survey by The Commonwealth Fund found that one in three American women report being “physically or sexually abused by a husband or boyfriend at some point in their lives.” A Bureau of Justice Statistics Crime Data brief says that more than 500,000 American women were victims of nonfatal violence committed by an intimate partner in 2001, and women account for 85 percent of the victims of intimate partner violence.

MAWS pioneered programs such as ManKind to combat these sobering statistics. Developed in 1980, it was one of the country’s first “Batterer Re-education Programs,” and adheres to the following principles, outlined on their website:

1) Men's violence against women is learned behavior that can be unlearned. By doing so, men will be freed of destructive belief systems that have also harmed them.

2) Men must be accountable for their violence.

3) Community beliefs, which support and encourage men's violent behavior, must be changed to end abuse, and men have a key role to play in changing those beliefs.
“It was very positive I think. It gave me an opportunity to think about why I do what I do,” says David, a ManKind participant who was criminally charged with domestic violence and doesn’t wish to reveal his last name. “It gave me an opportunity to soften and find ways to calm myself. I can’t imagine any of the other programs could be any better.”

The ManKind program begins with 48 three-hour re-education classes based on the “manalive” curriculum developed by Hamish Sinclair. The classes focus on evaluating the “Male-Role-Belief System” in which males expect to have control over their partners, and how those beliefs can lead to violence.

“One of the messages they teach is that nobody causes you to do anything–that you are the cause of everything you do,” says David. “It took me several weeks of thinking about this and discussing it to decide this is true. It’s not that easy to live that way all the time, but it’s true.”

After completing the first year of the program, graduates can assume a very powerful role in the fight against domestic violence: Community Advocacy. The program gives them a chance to help their peers by teaching ManKind classes at jails, becoming facilitators for re-education classes, working on a 24-hour men’s hotline, and participating in interventions with men arrested for domestic violence that are being held at the county jail.

Mark Owens, ManKind’s Program Manager, knows this role well: he’s been through the program himself for his own violence. “[Within] the first 20 minutes I felt I was in the right place because they were describing me. I realized not everyone handles themselves in relationships like I was,” he says. “You have to be honest, open and willing.

Accountable for the past, integrity for the present, and responsibility for the future.”
ManKind’s innovative approach to combating domestic violence is paying off. ManKind statistics are some of the best in the U.S. for Batterer’s Intervention Programs, showing that “77 percent of our graduates on probation do not get re-arrested for domestic violence four years after graduation.” In 2006, there were 750 class participants in the program, as well as 850 men who attended ManKind classes at the Marin County Jail and San Quentin State Prison.

“This is an effort to go beyond waiting for it to be too late,” says MAWS Executive Director Donna Garske, making her way back up Fourth Street towards the post-march picnic and celebration at Forest Meadows Amphitheater. “We want to emphasize prevention,” she says. “Our saying is ‘awareness plus community action equals change.’ Awareness is not enough. It has to be followed.”