Advocates call domestic violence a national epidemic.
It seems everywhere you look, there's pink — various items bringing awareness to breast cancer. You might have even heard that one in eight women is affected by breast cancer in her lifetime, but did you know that one in just four women is affected by domestic violence?
“We talk about breast cancer all the time, which is certainly an important issue to be talking about, but the domestic violence movement needs to learn from the breast cancer movement about how to put this issue out in the open and get more people to talk about it.”
Shannon Barry, executive director of Domestic Abuse Intervention Services (DAIS), says in 2006 and 2007, there were 67 domestic violence homicides across the state, according to a new Wisconsin Coalition Against Domestic Violence Homicide report.
“And across our state there is 3.3 homicides every month in the state of Wisconsin that are domestic violence related.”
Barry says family violence is all-encompassing; children are victims, and even some men, but that's not typical.
“Ninety-five percent of the cases are men abusing women. That doesn't mean every man is an abuser, certainly not. We also know that it happens in LGBT relationships, too.”
Barry says domestic abuse is a seriously under reported crime, with only about a quarter of victims reporting their abuse. Barry says it's not acceptable; In addition to law enforcement and the courts, the entire community needs to get involved. October is domestic violence awareness month.