Shedding Light on Domestic Violence
In the United States, 1 in 4 women will be physically assaulted by a partner at some point in their lives, according to The National Coalition Against Domestic Violence.
To bring continued awareness to the issue, the Alameda County District Attorney's office held a ceremony to honor the victims who were killed in the last 20 years because of domestic violence and empower the survivors.
"Domestic violence affects people of all ages, ethnicities, cultures, religions, sexual orientations, education levels, and income levels. When we come together and provide resources for domestic violence victims, they can find a way out of a violent relationship and be safe themselves and their children," Alameda County District Attorney Nancy O'Malley said during the event in front of the county offices in Oakland.
During the ceremony, the names of murdered victims in the county were read out loud, from 1996 onward, and a bell was rung in their honor. In 1996, there were 20 deaths reported that were connected to a domestic violence incident by an intimate partner. This year, on the 20th annual Day of Remembrance, the group read 220 names.
"We fight each day to try to put a stop to domestic violence and ensure that one day, there will be no names left to read," O'Malley said.
The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, unfortunately, had ripple effects on the victims of domestic violence, O'Malley said calling it the “shadow pandemic,” as shelter-in-place orders forced adults and children suffering from abuse, trapped at home with their abusers.
"Tragically, many were unable to seek safety from the people, and places they would normally go," she added.
In 2019, Alameda County reported one domestic violence death. But in 2020, there were 10 victims. In 2021, five domestic violence deaths were reported—five too many for O'Malley.
"It is heartbreaking to read these names year after year," she said.
October is annually recognized as Domestic Violence Awareness Month. The District Attorney's office established the Family Justice Center as well as an annual Day of Remembrance after O'Malley realized that someone seeking shelter from domestic violence faced huge bureaucratic challenges.
"While I was instructing this one woman to go here to get help for this, and over there to get help for another thing, and a third place to help her kids. That's when I realized that the county needed to do a better job of providing a central resource where victims could go," O'Malley said.
Often hard to identify from the outside world, domestic violence has been around for centuries and remains a widespread problem impacting millions of people annually. Abusers use fear or intimidation to gain control over someone and their methods may include financial or sexual abuse and oftentimes include children, pets, threats, intimidation, and isolation.
If you or someone you know is the victim of domestic violence, you can call the county's 24-hour crisis line at (510) 757-5123 or (800) 947-8301.
All services are available in other languages through an interpreter, and all conversations are confidential.