Highlight #10-Silent Witness: Celebrating Those Who Are No Longer Here

 

(Above: Kay Harvey & Regina Gower look on as Julie Robins of White Wing Loft releases a dove at the Silent Witness Closing Ceremony)

Since 2013, we have recognized Domestic Violence Awareness Month (October) in a special way by holding the Silent Witness Project. Our campaign is a local display of the movement created by the Silent Witness National Initiative which began as a way to bring awareness to communities about the toll domestic abuse plays in families’ lives.

Northwest Arkansas Women’s Shelter uses this project to speak out against the recent domestic homicides that occurred in the state of Arkansas for the previous year. We do this by using life-sized red silhouettes to represent each victim (whether man, woman, or child) as we march and speak out on their behalf. We also place these silhouettes along with the story of the person that they represent in area businesses during the month of October so that others will learn more about the victim who is no longer with us.

Last fall, we honored the 11 lives that our state lost in 2014 due to domestic violence. Ten were women and one was the unborn child of one of the victims.

We marched with silhouettes representing them.

We read their stories and learned about the struggles they and other victims faced.

And we released doves for them as a symbolic way to release them from this earth.

Perhaps the most terrible result of domestic homicides is that while these 11 individuals do not get the opportunity to live their lives, in most cases their abusers do. We combat this cruel reality by recognizing and honoring the victims who are no longer able to share their stories with us. By speaking up for them and allowing their silhouettes to silently speak on their behalf, they are not forgotten and we hope their deaths are not in vain.

As advocates for our clients as well as all victims and survivors, we want to make sure their stories are heard and their struggles are shared. Domestic abuse is a community problem and it will take all of us working together to correct it.

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Booth at the Silent Witness Opening Ceremony

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Marchers at the March to End Violence in Downtown Rogers

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Marchers at the March to End Violence

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Detective Glynn Bertrand of Bentonville Police Department speaks about how domestic abuse affects us

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John McGee and Leslie Folsom hold the March Banner

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Kay Harvey shares her story and the story of her daughter who was killed two years ago.

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Booth at the Silent Witness Opening Ceremony

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Dr. Todd Kitchens shares NWACC’s role in reducing domestic violence

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John McGee, Executive Director of NWAWS, explains how domestic violence effects NWA

Closing Ceremony (9)

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Regina Gower shares her sister’s story

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Kay Harvey and Regina Gower look on as Julie Robins releases a dove

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Kay Harvey and Regina Gower look on as Julie Robins releases a dove

Special thanks to the committee members and partners who helped make this year a success! We appreciate you!

For more photos of our 2015 Silent Witness events, check out our Facebook page. To learn more about Silent Witness, click here. Interested in getting involved? Send Amber an email at alacewell@nwaws.org.