Patti Giggans has been the executive director of Peace Over Violence since 1985, but her passion for social justice began before she even got her high school diploma.

“As a sophomore in high school geometry class I remember reading William Shirer's The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich,” Giggans said. “I read it on my lap... I flunked geometry.”

Peace Over Violence, formerly the Los Angeles Commission on Assaults Against Women (LACAAW), is a Los Angeles-based nonprofit dedicated to intervention, prevention, education and advocacy for victims of abuse and violence. It offers a variety of educational programs and counseling services, and operates an emergency hotline. Peace Over Violence will honor USC Shoah Foundation at its 42nd Annual Humanitarian Awards Oct. 25.

In addition to Shirer, Giggans was influenced by learning about the Holocaust and the civil rights, feminist and gay rights movements of the 1960s. She said she chose to work in violence prevention “because there can be no equality or freedom when there is violence or the threat of violence.”  

Giggans has held leadership positions in the field of sexual assault and domestic violence including president of The California Coalition Against Sexual Assault (CALCASA) and founding board member of the California Partnership To End Domestic Violence (CPEDV).  She helped create violence prevention curricula, co-authored books on teen dating violence and women’s self-defense, and founded the first women’s martial arts school in Southern California in 1978.

She is currently researching violence against women and girls as a Durfee Foundation Stanton Fellow, and received awards including The California Peace Prize and the Lifetime Achievement Award from The California Partnership to End Domestic Violence.

“I have been blessed to have been able to work with Peace Over Violence for these past 30 years. The legacy of family violence runs deep in the human family and I can think of no other more sacred path then the path of peace over violence,” Giggans said. “We are committed to building healthy relationships, families and communities free from sexual, domestic and interpersonal violence. This is our mission and this is my life's work.”