our advocacy: Ending Femicide in Texas and Beyond
At Circle of Hope Outreach and Missions, we are committed to ending femicide — the intentional, gender-based killing of women and girls — through awareness, advocacy, survivor support, and data-driven reform. This is one of the most urgent and least recognized human rights crises in the United States, and we are determined to change that.
The Crisis We Cannot Ignore
In 2023, 205 Texans were killed by intimate partners — 179 of them women. Domestic violence homicides in Texas have nearly doubled over the past decade. Nearly three women are killed by intimate partners in the United States every single day. The United States accounts for approximately 70% of all female homicides among 25 high-income nations worldwide. Black women are nearly three times as likely to be killed by an intimate partner as white women. And yet the United States has no legal definition of femicide, no national tracking system, and no federal legislation specifically addressing gender-based killing. This is the gap Circle of Hope was built to fill.
What We Are Doing About It
Awareness & Education
We deliver the Know the Signs curriculum to faith communities, schools, and civic organizations across North Texas — equipping everyday people to recognize the warning signs of escalating danger before it becomes fatal.
Policy & Legislative Advocacy
We advocate at the Texas Legislature for a Femicide Data Collection Act and stronger firearm removal protections for domestic violence victims. We engage the U.S. Congress on the need for a national femicide definition. And by 2027, we will formally submit testimony to the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women.
Survivor Support
We connect survivors with trusted legal aid, shelter, and counseling resources across North Texas. Our “Her Name Was” project gives names, faces, and stories to Texas femicide victims — because every woman deserves to be more than a statistic.
Data & Research
We publish an Annual Texas Femicide Report and are building toward a university research partnership to establish Circle of Hope as a credible civil society data source — the kind that is taken seriously in Austin, Washington, and Geneva.
Our Path to the United Nations
The United Nations Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women calls on civil society organizations like ours every year — specifically to fill the gaps left by governments that are not tracking or addressing femicide. The United States is one of those governments.
By 2027, Circle of Hope will submit formal testimony to the Special Rapporteur’s annual call for input, attend the UN Commission on the Status of Women in New York, and begin the process of applying for ECOSOC Consultative Status — giving us a permanent voice in UN proceedings on gender-based violence. The women of North Texas will be heard on the world stage.
stand with us
Whether you are a survivor, a legislator, a funder, a faith leader, or simply someone who refuses to look away — there is a place for you in Circle of Hope. Contact us to learn how to get involved, partner with our mission, or support our work.