Press Mentions

Stephanie Nilva, the executive director of Day One, a New York City-based nonprofit organization that works with youth to combat domestic violence, said in an email interview with Rewire that the risks to domestic violence survivors are multifaceted. She explained, “Domestic violence shelters and organizations rely on grants that range from thousands to hundreds of thousands of dollars and more. Those grants fund counselors who support survivors suffering from trauma; offer a safe place to sleep for someone who fled a home with children; help a teenager get an order of protection against a classmate stalking them. From another angle, removing or redirecting resources that support enforcement of Title IX … places young people at extreme risk.” 

“People forget that it didn’t start bad: a date, a dinner, let me get your coat and hit you in the face,” said Stephanie Nilva, who runs Day One, a group in New York City committed to preventing dating and domestic abuse. “It is good in the beginning and people love each other. Things that can become abusive can be mistaken for intense attraction and obsession.”

Stephanie Nilva is an attorney and the Executive Director of Day One, an organization that partners with youth to end dating abuse and domestic violence through community education, supportive services, legal advocacy and leadership development. 

Armed with the disconcerting knowledge that 5 million children witness domestic violence in this country each year and 1 in 3 teenagers in NYC reports experiencing abuse in a romantic relationship, Day One has recently procured a grant to develop an innovative new program with elementary aged students and the adults in their lives.

Shifting the focus of community work toward actively defining and encouraging explicit consent, and away from post-incident accountability, is a good place to start. That’s the suggestion of Andrew Sta. Ana, the director of legal services at Day One, which works with youth — offering prevention-based workshops to high schools, community organizations, and professionals who work with youth — to prevent and end intimate partner violence and sexual assault.

Stephanie Nilva, Day One’s Executive Director, was quoted in this weekly advice column called Love, Lucy that is in the New School Free Press.