March Raising Awareness Of Domestic Violence

INDIO – To know someone, you have to walk a mile in their shoes. That’s what the Riverside County District Attorney’s office aimed to do at Tuesday’s Walk-A-Mile event. People stepped into Terria Smith shoes. She is a domestic violence survivor.

“He hit me so hard … He hit me so hard that I remember my ears ringing,” says Smith.

She broke the cycle of violence and now works as a reporter at the Desert Sun. She hopes her story will inspire other men and women to get out of an abusive relationship and get help.

“You hear people say, you know, when they talk about women who are in abusive relationships, ‘Well, you know, maybe she stays in the situation because she likes it or she obviously doesn’t care if she’s gonna stay with him,” says Smith.

Nationwide, nearlyone infour woman andone in 14 men are victims of domestic violence. In 2007, more than 100 died in California as a result of domestic violence. Silhouettes stood around the Riverside County Administrative Building in Indio to represent domestic violence who died in Riverside County.

Domestic violence can be deadly for victims and for law enforcement. Haugen-Lehmann way here in Whitewater is named after Deputies Haugen and Lehmann both killed in the line of duty responding to a domestic violence call. A silhouette took the deputies place as the DA’s office played the 911 call that led to their deaths.

“I’m at my neighbors house. He’s got my children. He’s got my sister. He just beat the crap out of me, kicked me. And he said he was gonna kill me if I called the police. He left and I came over here. And now he’s come back. Does he have any weapons? He’s got a gun. He’s got a what? He’s got an M-1 rifle.”

District Attorney Rod Pacheco says the number of convictions for domestic violence is on the rise, but more needs to be done. One problem is changing people’s perception of just what domestic violence is.

“The early warning signs include jealousy, stalking, not respecting boundaries, possessiveness, threats and attempts to degrade and destroy self esteem,” says Kristine Thornberry, Director of Victim’s Services for the Riverside County District Attorney’s Office.

So, walk tall and get help if you see these warning signs. If you, or someone you know, needs help, call the national domestic violence hotline, 1-800-799-S-A-F-E. That’s 1-800-799-7233.