Family Support Services in Amarillo hosted its first annual three-block march against domestic violence on Oct. 15. Every Oct. is commemorated as Domestic Violence Awareness Month.
“111 women were killed last year due to domestic violence in Texas,” Terri Barker, director of Crisis Services at Family Support Services in Amarillo, said. “Texas is among one of the top states for murders of women by people they have been intimate with.”
The march brought together just over 80 people; 25 to 30 of those people representing Daisy Strout, a 26-year-old Amarillo woman who was struck by a vehicle and killed last week in a parking lot at 1220 S. Georgia St. Her 43-year-old boyfriend, Michael Buse, has been charged with her murder.
“We had many people here to represent Daisy and they brought the purple balloons,” Barker said. “It was very moving.”
Participants were encouraged to wear purple, the designated color for domestic violence, and to bring signs supporting the cause or a loved one who has been affected.
“This year we were concentrating on Amarillo and saying that there is no room for domestic violence in our city,” Barker said. “Domestic Violence is one of those causes that people think that they are the only person that this is happening to. [The walk] gives the knowledge to those that there are other people in this situation and there is help available.”
Barker said during the last fiscal year, Sept. 1, 2009 through Aug. 10, 2010, the 24-hour crisis hotline at Family Support Services received 1,660 family violence calls. Family Support Services also housed 462 people in their domestic violence shelters.
“I have seen many domestic violence cases in my years, and I feel that this is an issue worth paying great attention to,” Dr. Amber Price, an ENT specialist in Oklahoma City, said. “We have to make a commitment, as a community, to stop the violence and to speak out for those who are afraid to do so.”
According to the Texas Council on Family Violence, a woman is beaten every 12 to 15 seconds in the United States. Additionally, 74 percent of all Texans have either experienced themselves or have a family member and/or friend that has experienced some form of domestic violence.
“Sometimes people think of domestic violence as just occurring between married people,” Dr. Allen Thomalla, treatment director at the West Texas A&M University Counseling Services, said. “I think it’s very important to college students to know that some relationships that start off a little jealous or controlling can actually turn into physical violence, and [they] need to be very much aware of that.”
Thomalla said over one million women and 800,000 men are physically assaulted by an intimate partner annually in the United States.
“We have one therapist who specializes with relationships and she does pre-marital workshops,” Thomalla said. “She also is good at working with people with relationship difficulties that they are currently experiencing.”
The Family Support Services are currently discussing the probability of continuing an annual march for domestic violence in Amarillo. However, Barker wants the community to be aware of the services that are offered year-round.
“We have a crisis hotline and a victim can call anytime, 24 hours a day, to get help, to just talk or anything they need,” Barker said. “We are declaring that there is no room for domestic violence and hopefully the population will get behind this.”
