COLUMBUS, Ohio — Dozens of people gathered at the Ohio State House Wednesday wearing purple to recognize Domestic Violence Awareness Month.
According to the Ohio Domestic Violence Network, Ohio suffered 112 domestic violence fatalities in the year ending on June 30, including 22 youth. The number of deaths is the same as last year's count, and like last year, it included the highest number of youth fatalities since the coalition began the count.
A survivor who survived a near-fatal strangulation shared her journey.
"I thought I was going to die," Paula Walters said. "I think if I'd stayed in that, I'd be dead."
Walters, a paramedic in Henry County, said she was strangled by her abuser in 2006. She now lives with a brain injury that went undiagnosed for more than a decade.
More than a fifth of the deceased victims died from strangulation, traumatic brain injuries or a combination of both, nearly double the number in last year’s report, according to ODVN.
In most cases, there were warning signs and the primary victim had tried to get help.
ODVN said in nearly two-thirds of the cases, victims had been involved with the criminal or civil justice systems. More than half of the victims had contacted law enforcement or the courts to report violence or threats of violence, or the court system had been involved in some way, such as with custody cases involving domestic violence that were pending or cases where the perpetrators were out on bond.
"We found that about 60% of the cases had prior law enforcement involvement or court involvement, so what we want to tell survivors is that even if you have not called law enforcement or have not gotten involved in the court process, you can still reach out to one of our shelters or domestic violence programs," said Maria York, policy director of the Ohio Domestic Violence Network.
In 2022, there were seven domestic violence homicides in Columbus. So far in 2023, there have been 22.
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine and Attorney General Dave Yost secured $20 million in state line-item funding for domestic violence services in the state’s 2024–2025 budget. ODVN honored them with its annual Croucher Family Award for Outstanding Leadership for that commitment.
But lawmakers said more needs to be done.
"I'm thrilled that we got $20 million as a line item in the budget, but the reality is that when we look at the funding per capita, that's still 85 cents per capita. And when we look at our neighboring states, they are two to three times higher than what we are funding," said Rep. Allison Russo.
"We just need people to understand that you have to get out. It doesn't get better," Walters said.
Resources for domestic violence victims:
- National Domestic Violence Hotline: 800.799.SAFE (7233)
- CHOICES: 614-224-4663
- BRAVO serving LGBTQI: 866-862-7286
- DeafPhoenix: 614-450-1262
- OhioHealth: 614-840-9934
- The Center for Family Safety and Healing: 614-722-8293
If you cannot find a program that meets your needs, please contact ODVN at 1-800-934-9840 or 614-781-9651