Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Figures represent victims killed as result of domestic violence
BENTONVILLE — Red silhouettes this month will honor the lives of people killed in domestic violence incidents and also serve as a warning about domestic abuse, Amber Lacewell said.
The silhouettes are part of the Silent Witness Program, said Lacewell, director of community outreach and education for the Northwest Arkansas Women’s Shelter. The silhouettes will be distributed to Northwest Arkansas agencies and businesses where they will remain for the rest of the month. October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month.
The red silhouettes represent Arkansas domestic abuse victims who were killed in the past year, Lacewell said. Thirty-one Arkansans died from domestic violence in 2016.
For the fifth year, these stories will be brought to life through the women’s shelter’s Silent Witness Project that started on downtown Bentonville on Friday. The shelter and others community partners hope to raise awareness about domestic violence. It’s modeled after the Silent Witness National Initiative.
“It is so important that we remember the individual human lives behind these numbers, said Shelli Cathcart, the shelter’s executive director. “These are 31 women, men and children that lost their lives due to domestic violence in Arkansas last year — and it is heartbreaking that this number has grown from 2015. There are countless other lives that will forever be changed by this loss. As a community, we must speak for those who no longer have a voice.”
Kay Harvey has a special connection the red silhouettes. One of the red figures once represented her daughter, Kelly Davis. She was
murdered by her husband in August 2012. Perry Davis was sentenced in 2014 to 35 years in prison.
Harvey said her daughter was never physically abused until the day she was murdered. Harvey said Perry Davis did abuse her daughter mentally and emotionally.
Harvey said she wants to encourage and empower women to break free and get out of abusive relationships. She said there are resources to help women and they could contact local shelters.
She hopes that people learn more about domestic abuse from the Silent Witness Program.
“It means that next year we may have a lot less murders the more attention brought to domestic abuse,” Harvey said.
Bentonville Mayor Bob McCaslin said domestic abuse is a community problem. McCaslin said the city made a commitment in 2015 to address domestic violence by creating a position at the Bentonville Police Department for a detective to be dedicated and assigned to investigate domestic abuse crimes.
McCaslin said they wanted the city to be safe for everyone and a haven for healthy families.
The program is important because it brings awareness about domestic violence and the tragic consequences it can have on families, Lacewell said.
“Each life represented by the silhouettes represents not only a person whose life was cut short, but that person’s family members and friends whose lives will be changed forever,” Lacewell said.
The police and the courts understand the seriousness of domestic violence but public is often unaware of how rampant domestic violence is, Lacewell said.
In the United States, one in three women and one in four men will be a victim of violence inflicted by an intimate partner at some point in their lives, Lacewell said.
“We all know someone who has been or will be affected, but sadly do not talk about it and often stigmatize victims and survivors,” Lacewell said. “The truth is anybody, regardless of socio-economic status, race, gender, or religion can experience domestic abuse.”
Smith said it’s important to raise domestic abuse awareness. Many time the voices of domestic abuse victims are silenced and he hopes victims find their voices through awareness programs, said Nathan Smith, Benton County prosecutor.