Domestic Violence Awareness Month Ends but “Street Smart Safety for Women: Your Guide to Defensive Living” Remains

Before October leaves and with it, Domestic Violence Awareness Month, it seems important to take this opportunity to heighten awareness of a difficult topic- so difficult that it is frequently hushed up or swept under the rug.

Domestic Violence is such an unpleasant topic that it is often not really understood and measures to intervene are not easily available.

A recent book presents many aspects of this problem and might be helpful to our readers. Here is what Former Deputy Sheriff, Joy Farrow and Technologist and Domestic Violence Survivor, Laura Frombach, co-authors of the new book Street Smart Safety for Women: Your Guide to Defensive Living (Health Communications Inc, an imprint of Simon & Schuster / October 3, 2023 / $17.95) want women to know about the justice system.

Note that 30% of women aged 15 and older — almost one in three—have been subjected to physical and/or sexual intimate partner violence, shared Unwomen.org. 

Laura Frombach was introduced to technology in the U.S. Army working on Pershing nuclear missiles. Having spent much of her career as a technologist and engineer with IBM, HP, FedEx, Coca Cola Enterprises, Lenovo and others. A turning point in Laura’s life was the ‘aha’ moment when she correlated her mother’s mental illness to domestic violence. She is now the co-author of Street Smart Safety for Women: Your Guide to Defensive Living (Health Communications Inc, an imprint of Simon & Schuster / October 3, 2023 / $17.95) and advocates for local domestic violence shelters. Laura was one of the featured speakers at the TEDx Eustisconference and speaks on women’s safety. Laura is an avid reader and fitness enthusiast, loves comedy and spiritual topics (not in that order, just in case…). She has been working on personal growth since the sixth grade.

Joy Farrow is a retired Deputy Sheriff with twenty-eight years of experience and the co-author of Street Smart Safety for Women: Your Guide to Defensive Living(Health Communications Inc, an imprint of Simon & Schuster / October 3, 2023 / $17.95). She worked road patrol in Pompano Beach, FL, and faced every situation imaginable. After the 9/11 tragedy, Joy transferred to the Fort Lauderdale/Hollywood Int’l Airport with the Broward Sheriff’s Office to focus on the safety of air travelers. In 2017, Joy assisted with the aftermath of the mass shooting at the Airport. She has received numerous letters of commendations & several lifesaving awards. Joy was one of the featured speakers at the TEDx Eustis conference and speaks on women’s safety. Joy is a walking encyclopedia of murder and crime topics; an avid personal fitness enthusiast, enjoys stand-up comedy and has done a couple of open mic nights!

Learning about the system and how things work can be very helpful if one finds themselves in a situation they never expected or wanted, and where one feels endangered.