Tuesday night, 28-year-old Starlena Pratt of South Charleston died one month after suffering severe burns over the majority of her body. While this tragic news alone is enough to evoke feelings of grief from people who never knew Starlena or her family, the horrific story of her murder should appall all who hear. But has it? Reports state that on August 3rd, Starlena's boyfriend Farley Allen Rhodes doused her in a flamable liquid and set her on fire in their South Charleston apartment, after Starlena had entered their home and told Rhodes she was going to leave him. While Starlena desperately clung to her life in Cabell Huntington Hospital, police arrested Rhodes and charged him with one count of arson causing serious bodily injury and two counts of first-degree arson. Media downplayed the issue – covering the story almost three days after the incident but still only mentioning that “a woman was burned in a house fire in South Charleston.”
This grisly murder comes on the heels of another equally horrific domestic violence homicide only two months ago, when Nalisha Gravely was shot and killed by her ex-boyfriend at the West Side Taco Bell. While our community was outraged over that atrocity, our vigor seems to have waned. Did anyone else find it shocking that Starlena's death did not even make the front page of yesterday's newspaper...while news about Tri-State Racetrack & Gaming hiring new employees did?
This is a sad reflection of our community – and of our society in general – which seems to have fallen back into complacency about the real problem of domestic violence in our own backyards. Rev. Matthew Watts, pastor of Grace Bible Church in Charleston and respected community leader, described the trend of domestic violence in our community as "pandemic". The only way we can reverse this pandemic is if every member of this community stands together and takes responsibility for eliminating domestic violence. How many murders will we read about but still look the other way? What will it take to get our community outraged about this young woman's death?
We applaud organizations like West Virginia Radio Corporation, who understand the gravity of this tragedy and took the initiative to host a Circle of Hope fundraiser yesterday afternoon for Starlena's family, raising more than $3,000. Through the YWCA Resolve Family Abuse Program, we will continue to do our part in the grand scheme of eliminating domestic violence in our community as well.
We will continue to provide a 24-hour crisis line, where advocates can help victims who are trying to leave their abusers plan safe escapes – as leaving can be the most dangerous time in an abusive relationship. We will continue to give presentations to more than 3,000 middle and high school students each year on the warning signs of teen dating violence and on the dangers of relationships dominated by jealousy, power, violence and control. We will continue to provide free shelter, support, counseling and court advocacy to victims of domestic violence.
What will you do?
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2 comments:
I support victims of both genders. Do you?
Half of all dv is mutual. Of the rest, 70% involve a female abusing a male, not the other way around.
Mothers acting alone commit twice the neglect and abuse of children than fathers acting alone.
Men are often arrested when they've been the victim. Even when they place the call. Even when they're bleeding and the woman is not.
This is all thanks to the Violence Against Women Act. A law that provides no protection to men and boys over age 12. We need to fix VAWA now!
http://www.mediaradar.org
http://www.teristoddard.org
Here at the YWCA, we support ALL victims of domestic violence. We recognize that domestic violence can affect individuals of all races, genders, sexual orientations, and social and economic backgrounds. However, research is clear and inarguable that:
1. Women are more likely to be physically harmed by abuse
2. Women are more likely to be killed by an intimate partners
3. Women are the vast majority of those requesting victim services
In West Virginia in 2003, 77% of homicide victims were women and 65% of all femicides were DV related (http://www.wvdhhr.org/ocme/DVReport2003.asp).
Nationwide, female murder victims are substantially more likely than male murder victims to have been killed by an intimate. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, approx. 1/3 of female murder victims were killed by an intimate, while approx. 3% of male murder victims were killed by an intimate (http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/homicide/intimates.htm#intimates)
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