VIDEO: A woman and her 10 year-old son who suffered from PTSD as a result of witnessing domestic violence (2:55)

At a recent conference in New York City leaders in business, social welfare and philanthropy came together to hear about an initiative that is bringing the Transcendental Meditation technique to hundreds of women and children suffering from the traumatic stress of domestic violence. The conference was co-sponsored by the David Lynch Foundation Women’s Initiative, the New York City Family Justice Center, and the Mayor’s Office to Combat Domestic Violence.

VIDEO: Conference Highlights (4:13)

Studies have also found that the medical and mental health treatment for those who have suffered from incidents of domestic violence, as well as their more than 7 million days of absence from paid work last year, is at a cost of tens of billions of dollars.

CONFERENCE HIGHLIGHTS:

CNN’s Candy Crowley:

“There are tens of thousands of women and children in the U.S. suffering from the debilitating effects of violence and abuse. The David Lynch Foundation’s Women’s Initiative was founded to try to give these women and children this evidenced-based tool—TM—to find relief and peace within themselves.”

Yolanda Jimenez, Commissioner, Mayor’s Office to Combat Domestic Violence:

“I learned TM alongside our clients and staff. I have seen firsthand the transformative effect of TM on the lives of domestic violence survivors and their children. It can be a powerful tool to begin the healing process for victims and their children.”

Carol Kurzig, President of the Avon Foundation for Women

“Early outcomes indicate that learning TM will help survivors of domestic violence recover from abuse they have experienced, as well as assisting them to more effectively utilize the numerous services available through the Family Justice Center.”

Pamela Peeke, MD, MPH, FACP, Chief Medical Correspondent for Discovery Health TV:

“We try to do it all. It’s time to learn how to ‘check in’—inwardly. Peace, enhanced creativity, and higher levels of integrated thinking are all gifts awaiting women who experience TM. So when it comes to trauma, you can dampen the scream of the trauma and just bring it into a simple whisper because you’re in control. And if that’s not empowering, I don’t know what is.”

For more information about the David Lynch Foundation’s Women’s Initiative, click here.