Me: "Ventura County has the highest rate of reported domestic violence in the state when compared with any county with a population of more than 60,000."
Neighbor: "You have to be kidding me. Here, in Ventura County?"
I've probably had this same conversation about 50 times over the past couple of years. As the executive director of Interface Children & Family Services, one of our county's leading nonprofit groups confronting family violence, I talk a lot about this vital public safety issue. But domestic violence is still in the shadows.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that nearly one in three women nationwide suffer intimate partner abuse. However, most people I speak to have no idea this is so prevalent, especially here in beautiful Ventura County. Many are shocked to hear the No. 1 physical threat to a woman is not her car or caner, it's her intimate partner. Shocking and sad, but true.
We’ve seen major strides over the past few decades in bringing public awareness to mental health issues. Friends, family and colleagues openly talk today about taking anti-depressant medication — something unheard of a few decades ago. Now it’s time to elevate the issue of domestic violence in the same way. We have to move beyond the secrecy and shame, and model the community courage to address this serious danger squarely and openly.
There is precedence for this kind of community action and hope for us. San Francisco County went 44 months without a single domestic-violence homicide after persistently confronting its domestic violence challenges over the past decade. It wasn’t easy, but if the city and county of San Francisco can do it, so can we.
To read more of Erik Sternad's article, please click here.
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