October is celebrated annually in the Territory as Domestic Violence Awareness Month, and Sasha Hodge, Director of the Family Support Network in an interview disclosed that the “Nailing It” campaign was borne from her observation of how women look forward to and enjoy getting their nails done.

“I go to the nail salon and I always see lines of women – they like to get their nails done. It makes you feel good, it makes you feel pretty; and it makes you feel empowered. There is something about getting your nails done that makes you feel good.”

The FSN Director said that while browsing the internet and looking at photos, she thought that having a nail related campaign would be a great way to bring the domestic violence message across.

She said that FSN wanted optimum participation and so ventured on promoting the campaign from September.

“I posted it out early before October because I know a lot of people get their nails done at the end of the month or sometimes during the middle of the month, so I wanted enough for people to see it and act on it,” Hodge noted.

The campaign is unisex as it was explained that persons can participate by painting the ring finger (on any hand) any shade of purple in support of domestic violence.

Additionally, the FSN kicked off its month of activities with a “Walk of Remembrance” today, October 1. The walk started at 10:00 am at the Festival Grounds and went to the Noel Lloyd Park. As part of the activity, the organization released purple biodegradable balloons in an effort to bring awareness for the victims of domestic violence. The activity was also geared at paying tribute to friends and families that lost their lives to domestic violence.