I try to stay current with the work of my clients, and The James House is a great example of that in many regards. The James House works to help people impacted by domestic violence and sexual assault in seven communities in the Tri-Cities, and I continue to be struck by the magnitude of their day-to-day challenges.
I was pleased to see in this morning's Times-Dispatch that Powhatan County has taken steps to more actively reduce domestic violence:
Statistics from the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence show that 85 percent of domestic violence victims are women, Murphy said.
The group also reports that one out of every four women will experience domestic violence in her lifetime, and the residents of Powhatan are no exception, Murphy said.
Eventually, Murphy said, her office will be able to help families in crisis and may be able to head off some of the tensions that contributed to the domestic disputes the county has seen recently.
"Certainly there are families in turmoil and use violence to resolve conflict," Murphy said.
Murphy said Powhatan's Victim/Witness Assistance Program director, Wendy McClellan, reported that in fiscal 2008, her office provided direct services to 77 victims of domestic violence in the county.
"It's everywhere," Murphy said. "It happens everywhere to people with very diverse backgrounds regardless of education, economic status [or] religious background."
"It happens to a lot of people. They just don't talk about it."