Education, accountability keys to stop domestic violence

The following is an excerpt from a commentary GeorgeAnn Grubb, YWCA Resolve Family Abuse Program Director, wrote that appeared in the Sunday Gazette-Mail.

Hearing about the tragic death of 19-year-old Na'lisha Fiona Gravely last weekend evoked a heartbreaking, gut-wrenching response that I know was shared by thousands in our community and across the state. Domestic violence advocates and community members alike experienced a wave of emotions from grief to anger as they read the horrendous description of the four years of violence this young woman withstood at the hands of her "first love."

As the director of the YWCA Resolve Family Abuse Program, one of 14 licensed domestic violence service providers in West Virginia, I know I ask the immediate question on all our hearts: "Could this outcome have been avoided?"

Although this tragedy is very near to our hearts because it took place right here in our own back yard, it is easy to overlook the big picture. According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics Crime Data Brief on Intimate Partner Violence, more than three women are murdered by their husbands or boyfriends in this country on average every day. In our state alone, a domestic violence-related death occurs an average of once every eight days.

To read the entire commentary on the Gazette's website, click here.