The report from the Violence Against Women Act reports heroic steps have been taken to reduce domestic violence, but far more needs to be done to stop the epidemic of violence against women.

This year’s report applies to 2015. Most common weapons for homicides in which the weapons could be identified, 55% of female victims (840 out of 1,522) were killed by a gun. Of the females killed with a firearm, 64% were murdered by male intimates. The number of females shot and killed by their husband or intimate acquaintance (538 victims) was more than five times higher than the total number murdered by male strangers using all weapons combined (101 victims) in single offender incidents in 2015. In homicides where males used firearms to kill females, handguns were clearly the weapons of choice over rifles and shotguns. In 2015, 69% of female homicide victims (579 out of 840) were killed with handguns.

For the single female victim/single male offender homicides seven percent were younger than 18 years old; and 12% were 65 years or older.

Nancy Barton, executive director, Sistercare, Inc. works to educate the public about domestic violence. After over two decades with Sistercare, Inc. she has seen too much and heard too many stories where the only punch line comes from a fist. These stories and the women who experienced them have kept her going all her professional life. She makes no illusions about the all-consuming nature of her profession and the grim statistics that bolster it.

The following comes from Barton.

For me, it’s a life’s work. Domestic violence is real. A woman will be battered every 15 seconds in the United States. Battering is the number one cause of injury to women, and eight million children are affected by domestic violence. South Carolina has one of the worst records in the nation for deaths from domestic violence. South Carolina is now ranked number five in the rate of men killing women, based on 2015 data. These statistics reveal only a sliver of the story. Underlying the numbers are the somber stories of people whose homes are no longer havens. The women know isolation, threats and the fear of physical harm. The children ‘walk on eggshells’ and witness debilitating acts of violence in their homes.

The sad reality is that women are nearly always murdered by someone they know. Already, many elected officials and community leaders are working tirelessly to reduce the toll of domestic violence. Yet despite these efforts, the numbers remain unacceptably high. We need new policies in place from local communities to the federal government to protect women from harm. No American, adult or child, should live in a perpetual state of fear. It’s inhumane.

Sistercare is one of 13 shelter programs in the state. We also provide counseling support groups in five Midlands counties, including Newberry, and work with local liaisons to provide education on domestic violence prevention. We serve more women in our community based programs than in the shelters. It is an extreme choice to run from your home unless you absolutely have to. If women do run, Sistercare operates three shelters that can provide a safe haven to plan for the future. The locations are kept confidential.

Sistercare has a full-time Newberry County Advocate to assist victims of domestic violence and their children. Call (803-768-8426) Newberry Sistercare offers a free-of-charge, weekly battered women’s support group in a confidential location in Newberry County. Last year Sistercare served 153 new women and 192 new children. Newberry County survivors of domestic violence and their children were served through emergency shelter, court advocacy, individual counseling, case management, group counseling, children’s counseling and transitional housing.

Despite the danger, victims are willing to take the risks to leave the abuse. The three shelters admit battered women and their children for an average length of stay 35 days. The goal of Sistercare is to keep abused and battered people —real people in the community who may be your neighbors, relatives or fellow churchgoers —at the forefront. Daily, our staff assesses the situations, provide counseling, and help the victim maneuver the legal system. The Sistercare staff of seasoned professionals bears the brunt of the emotional roller coaster domestic violence represents. Counselors who have survived battering often provide the most powerful example to those in crisis.

Among the most wrenching cases was the 1994 murder of Vickie Lander Beckham from Newberry County, who was killed in a murder-for-hire by her husband, Steve Beckman.

There are cries heard in homes throughout our community, the sounds of women and children pursuing safety in the sanctity of their own homes. In the worst case scenario, women stay and endure the abuse because the chances of being killed are 75% greater if they leave. Children are killed too, or forced to see their mother murdered. It is for the protection of their children that many women stay in abusive relationships. These battered women think they can manage behavior, or at least confine the focus solely on themselves by staying in the relationship. There are not really good choices; they are ultimatums. With no other recourse, as most good mothers, they do what is necessary to protect the physical safety of their children.”

A United Way Agency, Sistercare, Inc. is a nonprofit assistance and shelter program for women and children who are victims of domestic violence. A crisis-line, 1-800-637-7606, is staffed 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. A counselor is always available to talk with women who are victims of abuse and to provide information about assistance. Newberry County Sistercare phone number is 803-786-8426.

Become a Friend of Sistercare—Your contribution in the amount most appropriate for you will be gratefully accepted. Your donation is tax deductible to the extent allowed by law.

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Margaret Brackett

Contributing Columnist

Margaret Brackett is from Newberry. Her columns appear weekly in The Newberry Observer.