I feel like my Blog needs it’s own award contest, starting this year, for a domestic violence survivor who has turned to fighting for DV advocacy. So, I am starting one! LOL! It’s called the DVWW Shield Maiden Award. Don’t let the title fool you, as it’s open to ALL genders. The stipulation is that you HAVE to be a survivor, HAVE to be out of active DV, and HAVE to be working toward a world without domestic abuse (in some form of advocacy). There will be the main award (pictured above), and a DVWW Purple Warrior Runner-Up (pictured below). All folks who participate receive a digital Certificate of Bravery.

Again, it’s an essay contest, open to all genders. It is world wide contest, open all DV survivors. The essay is 1,000 to 2,000 words. You’ll start by giving a brief synopsis of your survivor story, then transition to how you are working to fight domestic abuse. It could be through giving talks, through volunteering, through writing, through your job — ANYTHING that illustrates DV advocacy, going further into why. You have to be out of domestic abuse. Any entries of people in active DV will be disqualified. Everyone’s physical and mental safety is of the utmost importance! Period! We need you safe and healing before you would enter something like this!

So, why a Shield Maiden as the mascot for our award? Well, the majority of survivors are women and shield maidens were viking warrior women, who fought alongside men, for the betterment of their world. The Viking era went from 8th century AD to 11th century AD. Shield Maidens were unmarried women who carried and wielded weapons and wore armor. There is recend archaeological evidence to back up the myths and stories from Scandinavian countries, with one being unearthed in Birka, Sweden. They have captured the imagination and heroic symbolism for TV and video games alike.

A quote I’d found, describing a Shield Maiden: ‘A heroine with a generous spirit, an unshakable will and a dragon’s fury.’ — H. M. Long. This describes DV survivors EXACTLY and I just LOVE the symbolism! My plan is to run it EVERY year, with it getting bigger and bigger and expanding across the globe! Sadly, there is DV in EVERY country in the world — which is reasonable to assume that there are also DV survivors everywhere too!

The contest runs from October 15th, through December 1, 2023 at Midnight EST USA time. Please enter, one time, HERE: https://form.jotform.com/232874929083165.

Best of luck to everyone! <3 I cannot wait to read these essays!!!