Efforts ongoing to reduce rate of domestic violence

ACCORDING to the National Domestic Violence Hotline, 12 million people in the United States are affected by violence involving an intimate partner. Roughly 24 people per minute are victims of rape, physical abuse or stalking by their partner. Among women 18 and older, one in four is a victim of domestic violence.

These sorts of statistics are all too familiar to those who work with domestic violence victims in Oklahoma, because they see it all too often.

Oklahoma ranks No. 15 nationally in the rate of women killed by men, at 1.37 per 100,000, according to 2015 figures from the Washington, D-C.-based Violence Policy Center. This actually represents a slice of good news, because Oklahoma was ranked among the top five states (at 1.94 per 100,000) in the same rating just last year.

Even so, it’s hardly boastworthy. Oklahoma should strive to be at or near the bottom of the VPC’s list, and work toward that goal is ongoing.

Facilities such as YWCA Thelma Gaylord Emergency Shelter in Oklahoma City provide help to domestic abuse victims. Sadly, the shelter, which can house about 120 people, stays full most of the time. And no wonder — more than 35,000 domestic violence-related calls were placed to 911 last year in Oklahoma City.

Victims of domestic violence in the metro area also can get help at a family justice center called Palomar, at 1140 N Hudson. The center, which opened in February, houses representatives from 14 agencies including the police department, the Oklahoma County District Attorney’s Office, Legal Aid Services of Oklahoma and the Department of Human Services Child Protection Services.

The Oklahoman wrote last year about the number of women choked by their partners. From July 2015 through June 2016, YWCA nurses logged 88 cases where sexual assault or domestic violence victims had been choked. Experts say victims of these types of attacks are seven times more likely to wind up being killed.

The trauma of domestic violence can take a considerable toll on the children caught in the middle. The National Domestic Violence Hotline says 30 percent to 60 percent of domestic abusers also abuse children in the household. Nationally, roughly 40 percent of child abuse victims report domestic violence in the home. Studies show that kids exposed to trauma are more likely to abuse drugs and alcohol, become sexually active at a young age and attempt suicide.

All too often, victims of domestic violence try to hide it from family, friends and co-workers. Some believe they’re to blame, or that they can make their partner change, or they fear retribution if they try to move out. The list is lengthy. Yet the more we as a state talk openly about this scourge, the more likely it is that change might be effected, and lives saved.

As Domestic Violence Awareness Month, October provides an opportunity to broaden the conversation. Help for victims is available via the state’s domestic violence hotline, (800) 522-7233, or the national hotline, (800) 799-7233. If you know someone who is a victim of domestic violence, please speak up.