March 6, 2006

DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AWARENESS: GROUP TO MARCH ON MARCH 9

Charlotte, NC - The Mecklenburg County Domestic Violence Advocacy Council invites the public to participate in a march on the Square in Uptown Charlotte. The march is designed to raise awareness following the domestic violence-related death of two children in north Charlotte. Their father has been charged with murder.

The march will be held:

• Thursday, March 9
• 12:15 p.m. - 1 p.m.
• On the Square at Trade and Tryon Streets, Charlotte

Free parking is available at the Hal Marshall County Services Center at 700 North Tryon Street or the Seventh Street Station parking garage. A free trolley runs the length of Tryon Street every seven minutes.

These are the second and third domestic violence related homicides for 2006 in Mecklenburg County. The first domestic violence related homicide in 2005 took place March 18. There have been 12 homicides this year in the City of Charlotte. This time last year, there were 10. There have been eight domestic violence related homicides this year across the state of North Carolina, according to the North Carolina Coalition Against Domestic Violence (www.nccadv.org). There were only five at this point last year.

The Domestic Violence Advocacy Council organizes awareness marches every Thursday following a death in Mecklenburg County in which domestic violence played a role. The council includes representatives from the Mecklenburg County Women’s Commission, Department of Social Services, Sheriff’s Office, Shelter for Battered Women, Women First, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department-Domestic Violence Unit, Victim Assistance, businesses and the faith community.

"Domestic violence kills kids too," says Marie White, Women’s Commission Adult and Child Services Program Supervisor. "Perpetrators often victimize their victims by abusing and even killing their children." According to the Florida Governor’s Task Force on Domestic and Sexual Violence 1997 report, when children are killed during a domestic dispute, 90 percent are under age 10.

For more information on the effects of domestic violence in our community, call the Mecklenburg County Women’s Commission at 704-336-3210 or the Shelter for Battered Women 24-hour hotline at 704-332-2513. For more information on the Domestic Violence Advocacy Council, visit the Web site http://dvac.charmeck.org .