Group advocates for domestic abuse survivors
If stricter legislation were in place to protect domestic abuse survivors, Tamie Wilson’s aunt might still be alive today.
That was the emotional message she delivered at the Rally Against Domestic Violence on Saturday at the Ohio Statehouse.
Wilson, 49, of Delaware, is a Democrat who is running for election to the U.S. House of Representatives to represent Ohio’s 12th Congressional District. Her aunt, Linda Shoemaker, was shot and killed 21 years ago by her estranged husband in Bidwell, Ohio.
A small but passionate crowd of about 30 people gathered on the chilly afternoon to hear Wilson and a lineup of speakers that included survivors and advocacy groups. Some wore purple masks, hats, shirts and ribbons in honor of Domestic Violence Awareness Month, which falls in October.
Wilson, also a survivor, lead the attendees in several chants: “We want change! You are not alone! Your fight is our fight!”
Wilson and volunteers were collecting signatures for the reintroduction of House Bill 778, or an “ankle bracelet bill” that would require electronic monitoring of a person who violates a protection order.
“I’ve stayed up nights, and I’ve cried my eyes out,” she said of her aunt’s murder. “It’s just terrible. This bill is a big deal. It could save a lot of lives.”
Wilson also founded The Aunt Linda Foundation to help other survivors of domestic abuse.
Another survivor, Rebecca Stephens, shared her story in front of the crowd and urged them to sign the petition.
“The system is so broken,” said Stephens, who held up a poster featuring pictures of her bruises. “I have to live on the defensive all the time. I live every day not knowing if it’s going to be my last. Women are dying out here.
I want to live.”
Stephens also is a member of a Facebook group called Advocates for GPS Devices to Track Domestic Violence Offenders, which she encouraged attendees to join.
Another survivor, Marica Phipps, said her abuser was just released from a six-year prison sentence in July.
“To know that this would exist so that we can have a tracker on him somewhere would be amazing,” said Phipps, 42, of Grove City, who also is the founder of the Battered Not Broken organization.
‘Domestic violence is something that’s happening all around us all the time’
Nearly 10 million adults experience domestic violence per year in the U.S., according to the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence. And one in three women and one in four men have experienced some form of physical violence by an intimate partner.
In Ohio, 131 people died from domestic violence in the year ending June 30, 2021 — a 20% spike over last year — according to the Ohio Domestic Violence Network.
Elizabeth Abdur-raheem, executive director at LSS CHOICES for Victims of Domestic Violence, also attended the rally.
“It’s really important the public understands that domestic violence is something that’s happening all around us all the time,” said Abdur-raheem, 46, of Southern Orchards. “It happens to people of all socioeconomic, racial and cultural backgrounds and it’s really important that we take all the steps we can to make sure that our neighbors and our families are safe. Everybody should be safe in their own home.”
Wilson said she hopes to collect 1,500 signatures for House Bill 778.
“This is not over today. I need your support. I need you to let your friends and family members know that they need to get involved. They need to spread the word.”