EDITORIAL: Domestic violence is everyone’s problem

October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month. It is an observance intended to heighten public awareness to a problem that has reached epidemic proportions and to focus on finding solutions to this scourge on our communities.

Here’s something to really think about. Nationally, one in every four women will experience domestic violence in her lifetime, that according to the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence. Wives, sisters, mothers, daughters, grandmothers, granddaughters.

One in every four.

From July 1, 2008, to June 30, 2009, 72 percent of the victim population served by the Pee Dee Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual Assault were domestic violence victims. That’s 1,159 victims of domestic violence right here in the Pee Dee region.
The coalition during that time provided shelter for 182 women and children, providing a total of 5,460 nights of shelter.

According to the Violence Policy Center, South Carolina ranks eighth in the nation in the rate of women murdered by men in a report issued this month. Previously, the Palmetto State ranked second highest in the United States.

In 2007, according to the same organization, 46 females in South Carolina were murdered by males. Three of those victims were younger than 18. Three were over age 65. The average age of the victims was 39.

According to the S.C. Coalition Against Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault, last year in this state, 4,382 women and children were sheltered from abuse, while 28,507 victims of domestic violence received non-residential services.

It’s worth noting here that the Darlington County Sheriff’s Office recently received 24 new, 10-megapixel digital cameras for use in criminal domestic violence cases from the State Department of Public Safety. Deputies can use the cameras to photograph victims and document evidence at the scene.

In addition, the sheriff’s office recently was awarded a $99,705 Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) from the U.S. Department of Justice to hire and equip a criminal domestic violence investigator who will focus on major criminal domestic violence cases.
Authorities say more than half of all the cases reported to the sheriff’s office involve some sort of domestic violence, and domestic violence cases are also some of the most dangerous calls for responding officers.

Sheriff Wayne Byrd said these improvements will help in the fight against domestic violence in Darlington County.

Domestic violence is a deliberate act. And anyone – anyone – can be a victim.

And the offenders? They’re male and female, young and old, come from any and all races and ethnic groups, any and all socio-economic backgrounds, well-educated and not so well-educated.

The Pee Dee Coalition is a nonprofit organization dedicated to combating domestic violence as well as child abuse and sexual assault and assisting the victims of these crimes and their families. The coalition serves Darlington, Florence, Chesterfield, Marion, Dillon, Marlboro and Williamsburg Counties.

The group offers a variety of services to victims and their families including community victim assistance, alternatives to violence, prevention education, training and other educational programs as well as emergency safe shelters.

Throughout the month of October, the coalition is holding events and activities designed to focus attention on these acts of violence that plague our communities and our families. Just this week, the organization opened a new Durant Children’s Center 4th Judicial Circuit Satellite facility here in Hartsville in an effort to reach more victims in the region. This new facility is a welcome addition to Hartsville. It’s already serving the needs of children in the area.

Domestic violence is a crime. It will not go away on its own. What can we do about it? We can donate to the coalition’s efforts, give to a shelter, volunteer time to work with the coalition, offer support to a battered woman or talk to a child about relationships and violence.

If you or anyone you know is a victim of domestic violence, contact your local law enforcement agency and call the coalition’s 24-hour crisis line at (843) 669-4600 or (800) 273-1820 or CHILDHELP PEE DEE at (866) 867-9857.

To learn more or to help, call the Pee Dee Coalition at (843) 669-4694 or visit the organization’s Web site at http://www.peedeecoalition.org.

Each of us can do something. All of us together can do a lot.

Jim Faile is editorial page editor for The Messenger and can be reached by phone at (843) 332-6545 or by email