(ROCKWALL, TX – Oct. 11, 2016) While pink apparel can be seen almost everywhere this month in recognition of breast cancer awareness, Women In Need (WIN) invited everyone last week to don another color for another important cause.
On an early rainy Friday morning, WIN handed out purple ribbons and recognized Domestic Violence Awareness Month in Rockwall at a Vigil ceremony at the county courthouse. Officials spoke to guests in attendance on what all Rockwall County and WIN are doing to combat family violence and provide shelter to victims of physical and sexual abuse.
When it comes to domestic violence cases, Rockwall Mayor Jim Pruitt said the justice system has evolved since the days he served as a judge in Dallas County. Back in those days, he said, most of the domestic violence cases coming through the courts of Dallas County were dismissed, and there were no organizations offering the kind of shelter and support WIN currently provides.
“How in the world do you keep up the intensity that these ladies do?” Pruitt said. “We get jaded when we hear only the bad stories, but you guys do it every day.”
WIN operates out of its offices in Greenville and the Rockwall Children’s Advocacy Center (CAC) providing multiple services free of charge for victims of domestic violence, including a 24-hour hotline, emergency shelter care, legal advocacy, counseling services, and aftercare and support for those who have exited shelter.
Brittany and Sheeba, victims of domestic violence, gave folks in attendance at the vigil a perspective of the terrifying physical and sexual abuse they faced at the hands of their partners, and how WIN helped them through the emotional turmoil they faced in the aftermath.
“Women In Need were supportive beyond what I could’ve imagined,” Brittany said. “They were my strength when I had no strength.”
Rockwall County Sheriff Harold Eavenson gave some statistics regarding the number of people affected by domestic violence each year in the U.S. On average, Eavenson said, nearly 20 people per minute in the U.S. are physically abused by an intimate partner.
“During one year this equates to more than 10 million women or men,” Eavenson said. “One in five women and one in seven men have been victims of severe physical violence by an intimate partner in their lifetime.”
Those men and women aren’t the only victims of domestic violence; Eavenson said a recent Department of Justice report indicated that police officers are more likely to be killed responding to domestic violence disturbances than any other type of call.
“When I was going through the FBI National Academy many years ago, we were assigned projects to write a paper on and I chose to write a paper on this very subject,” Eavenson said. “Even in 1978 there were more officers killed responding to domestic violence than any other type of call, and that hasn’t changed.”
Laurie Burkes, family violence detective for the Rockwall Police Department, spoke of the three major pieces to the puzzle of family violence during the vigil: the police department, shelter and services for the victims, and prosecution and the legal system.
“Rockwall PD has partnered with the Rockwall County District Attorney’s Office to work together in pursuing the prosecution of family violence offenders,” Burkes said. “We work hand in hand with Kerri New, our ADA; she is a bulldog and she is here to pursue any justice for these victims. Together we make a great team, and altogether, we make a difference.”
Women In Need also welcomed Rockwall County Judge David Sweet to read the proclamation recognizing the month of October as Domestic Violence Awareness Month in Rockwall. Hear the entire proclamation as read by Judge Sweet here: twitter.com/BlueRibbonNews/status/784444362897788929
For more information about WIN, visit wintexas.org/.
Story and photos by Austin Wells, Blue Ribbon News editor / senior reporter.
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