COLUMBUS, Ohio -- An annual report highlights the importance of funding programs that keep domestic violence survivors safe.

A one-day census by the National Network to End Domestic Violence found in Ohio, more than 2,600 survivors of domestic violence, including children, sought refuge or assistance with shelter, housing, transportation or legal counsel.

Another 263 requests for help went unmet due to a lack of resources.

At the Journey Center for Safety and Healing in Cuyahoga County, Sarah Froimson, director of shelter services, says in 2019, her shelter was forced to turn away 350 people.

"That's men, women, gender nonconforming individuals, children who were in imminent danger because of domestic violence," she relates. "And when somebody is fleeing domestic violence, it's the most dangerous time for them."

The count was taken on Sept. 12, 2019. That day in Ohio, 1,500 adults and children found refuge in emergency shelters and other housing, and more than 1,100 received counseling, legal advocacy and other non-residential services.

Froimson calls it "devastating" to be unable to help a victim who's gathered the courage to flee a violent relationship and is in desperate need of safety.

"Unfortunately, survivors and victims are forced to make this impossible choice -- between repeated escalating violence, escalating in severity, and homelessness," she points out. "That's something that we should not take lightly."

And without adequate funding, Froimson says programs are often forced to reduce services or close their doors. She adds that domestic violence is a community problem.

"Our families can be impacted," she stresses. "Our sisters, our brothers, our children, everyone can be impacted.

"So not only is this an issue in social services, in domestic violence, this is an issue we need to take seriously as citizens."

The report calls for increased federal support so advocates can continue to help survivors in crisis, and those rebuilding their lives.

Froimson says that includes Congress reauthorizing and funding the Violence Against Women Act and the Family Violence Prevention and Services Act.


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BALTIMORE - This month marks the four-year anniversary of the #MeToo movement, and an art project aims to help incarcerated survivors heal by telling their own stories.

The group Just Detention International launched the "Prisoners Too" program last year with incarcerated women in South Carolina, who created butterfly murals to talk about their assaults. The group plans to bring the project to Maryland and other states.

Jane, a formerly incarcerated survivor from Maryland, said she wishes she'd had the opportunity to tell her own story 20 years ago. While facing drug charges in a Washington, D.C. detention center, she said she was raped multiple times by a prison guard. Jane's healing came only after sharing her story with a therapist, years later.

"It's important because people need to recover from things like that," she said. "I mean, this definitely affected the rest of my life. I think the Prisoners Too campaign can help support people who it has happened to, so they just don't give up on life and become depressed and even more hopeless."

She said the guard was never punished, which left her feeling unheard and traumatized.

Just Detention International is fundraising and expects to launch the program in other states this year. View the artwork and survivor stories online at JustDetention.org.

Jesse Lerner-Kinglake, Just Detention's communications director, said incarcerated survivors aren't allowed to share their #MeToo stories through social media, and they face other barriers to healing, including a public misperception that people behind bars deserve the abuse they suffer and don't have rights. He noted that sexual assault plagues U.S. prisons. Federal data show about 200,000 incidents every year.

"What we know, and I think what the #MeToo movement has shown us, is that there is a catharsis that comes with sharing your story, with being seen," he said, "and I think the amazing thing about #MeToo is that many survivors of sexual abuse realized that they had support, and they've realized that they weren't alone."

About 4% of adults in federal prisons and slightly more than 3% of adults in jails experience sexual victimization, according to the Maryland Coalition Against Sexual Assault. In Maryland, the number is higher: the Baltimore City Detention Center has a 6.7% rate of staff sexual misconduct.

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. - October is National Domestic Violence Awareness Month, and advocates want to shed more light on how Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer or Questioning survivors are often overlooked in discussions about violence prevention.

One in three women and one in four men are victims of domestic violence at some point in their lives, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data.

Hannah Mesouani - director of mission and equity consulting for the YWCA in McLean County - explained there's plenty of evidence of healthy straight relationships in the media, but far fewer examples of queer relationships.

"We already know there's a massive stigma around domestic violence for straight women in relationships with men," said Mesouani. "It's tenfold when it comes to queer folks, because we don't have solid representation of what good relationships look like."

U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin - D-Ill. - is among those calling for a bipartisan reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act, which expired in 2019. The U.S. House has already passed its version of the bill, which includes a grant program for initiatives specifically for LGBTQ domestic-violence survivors.

Mesouani added there are many myths and misconceptions about domestic violence. For instance, many people assume they're more likely to face violence from strangers, but the data show it's far more likely to be someone they know.

And the more conversations about domestic violence, she said, the better equipped prevention and support efforts will be.

"It's not an anonymous aggressor," said Mesouani. "It's not the stereotypical 'alpha men.' For us to acknowledge and to understand that domestic violence, intimate partner violence, has many different faces, helps us know how we can invest in our communities to create a safe community for everyone there."

Tomorrow, YWCA McLean holds a free, virtual training on Zoom and its Facebook page. The topic is the pressures facing LGBTQ youth, with suggestions for how to be more inclusive in violence prevention and education efforts.

CONCORD, N.H. -- Advocates for ending domestic violence urged Congress to renew the Violence Against Women Act and other federal legislation dedicated to supporting survivors.

It has been two years since the Act expired, and the House passed its latest bipartisan reauthorization bill in March. The Senate held a hearing on its version last week.

Lyn Schollett, executive director of the New Hampshire Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual Violence, said the legislation is key to making sure support and resources are available to Granite Staters.

"The Violence Against Women Act allocates really important funds for crisis-center services," Schollett explained. "And it also puts in place legal protections for victims in, say, in the court system or in prison and in other locations."

October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month, and the New Hampshire congressional delegation announced a little more than $2 million in federal grants coming to the state.

Schollett noted federal funding supports many services, from facilitating support groups to having an advocate to accompany people to court or engaging in outreach to let Granite Staters know help is available.

The Coalition has seen an increase in calls to the domestic-violence hotline during the pandemic.

Schollett pointed out New Hampshire has 12 community-based crisis centers throughout the state that respond around the clock, and they serve roughly 15,000 people a year.

"And that could be an individual who is currently being battered or harmed by someone in their household. It could be an adult who lived in a household that had domestic violence as a child," Schollett outlined. "Help is available in every community throughout the state 24 hours a day."

She added the free and confidential domestic- and sexual-violence helpline can be found at 866-644-3574.

New Hampshire recently launched a Text to 911 service, which proponents say can be a safer option for some people, including those who may be facing intimate-partner violence.