Domestic violence awareness event Saturday

Oct. 22—For more than 30 years, October has been designated as Domestic Violence Awareness Month.

An event Saturday in downtown Milledgeville aims to bring attention to domestic violence for two key reasons — to remember those whose lives have been claimed by it, and to encourage those currently in dangerous situations to cry out for help. The public is invited to attend.

Sponsored by T.H. Community Service and local business partners, the "Better Together" rally will take place 6 p.m. Saturday at the Floyd L. Griffin Jr. Black Heritage Plaza outside Allen's Market. T.H. Community Service is a local nonprofit organization owned by philanthropist and businesswoman Tracy Harper, who has organized the event to bring attention to domestic violence.

"This was an assignment from God," Harper said. "Getting this event together allowed me to see it's something really needed in Milledgeville and surrounding counties."

During the rally, Harper will be joined by several others in speaking out against domestic violence. Among them are Milledgeville Mayor Mary Parham-Copelan and Baldwin County Solicitor General Skye Gess. There will also be a balloon release and candles will be lit to memorialize lives lost.

But Harper made sure to say that remembrance is not the sole reason to bring everyone together Saturday.

"It's also for people who are suffering in silence," she said. "There are so many people going through domestic violence in silence that are scared to reach out and say anything. We want them to realize they are not alone and that domestic violence can still have a good ending."

Physical abuse is often the first thing that comes to mind when defining domestic violence, but many other heinous acts fall into the category. The National Coalition Against Domestic Violence (NCADV) defines it as the "willful intimidation, physical assault, battery, sexual assault, and/or other abusive behavior as part of a systematic pattern of power and control perpetrated by one intimate partner against another." Threats and emotional abuse are also considered to be forms of domestic violence.

According to the NCADV, 37.4% of Georgia women and 30.4% of Georgia men experience physical or sexual violence from a partner in their lifetimes. In 2019, the state's domestic violence programs answered over 52,000 crisis calls, and more than 7,200 victims were sheltered against domestic violence. More than 4,000 more victims were turned away due to lack of bed space.

Through Saturday's event, Harper hopes to curb some of that behavior. For more information on the "Better Together" rally, call Harper at 478-454-7556.

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