Throughout our 140 years in Western Massachusetts, we've seen the status of women in this country improve by leaps and bounds. While we are proud and thankful for the steps that have been taken to improve the lives of women, and our involvement in those steps, there is still work to be done. As we head into 2013, the following inequalities, injusticies, and dangers still exist for women all across the U.S:

• 1 in 3 women will experience intimate partner violence in their lifetime.
• 1 in 5 women have been raped in their lifetime. A majority of these rapes are committed by intimate partners and occur before the age of 25.
• While in school, more than 1 in 2 college-aged women will experience some form of sexual harassment.
• Women make up 51% of the population, 56% of voters and only 17% of Congress.
• Women still earn only 77 cents for every $1 a man makes.

Your support will allow us to continue our work to provide empowering and strengths-based services to survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault and to continue our efforts to improve the quality of life and opportunities for women everywhere.

Click Here to learn more about our services and programs.

To learn more about the YWCA of Western Massachusetts, please visit the following pages:

www.ywworks.org

www.facebook.com/YWCAWesternMass

www.twitter.com/YWCAWesternMA