Annual count of Ohio domestic violence fatalities shows big jump
An annual review of lethal domestic violence across Ohio shows a significant jump in deaths, reversing what had been two years of decline.
The report, released Tuesday by the Ohio Domestic Violence Network, counted 109 fatalities from July 1, 2019, through June 30. That's about 35% higher than the total the group reported last year.
Jo Simonsen, family systems advocacy director, said the toll is the second-highest since the network started issuing the reports five years ago.
"It's frustrating when advocates and families and survivors work so hard to make things more peaceful," Simonsen said. "It's frustrating when we don't see us gaining ground."
Mary O'Doherty, executive director of the Ohio Domestic Violence Network, said history has shown that domestic violence tends to increase in the aftermath of disaster. The COVID-19 pandemic, which led to stay-at-home orders and deep economic distress, likely is contributing to more violence, she said.
At the same time, domestic violence programs across the state are preparing to reduce both services and staff due to cuts in federal Victims of Crime Act grants, which are a primary funding source for most.
Advocates are calling on legislators to increase state budget support for domestic violence programs throughout Ohio, which puts far less money than most states — $1 million a year — toward the effort.
That works out to less than $18,000 per shelter.
"We really need resources to gain ground on this," Simonsen said.
Franklin County, Ohio's most-populous, led the state with 18 deaths, up from 12 during the previous year. But the county did report some good news Tuesday, announcing that local government and nonprofit advocates have received a $900,000 federal grant to better coordinate law enforcement, legal and community responses to domestic violence.
The money comes from the U.S. Department of Justice and the Office for Violence Against Women and will be used by nine Franklin County agencies to build a more-collaborative approach to the problem of family violence, officials said.
Also this week, as part of its work to track the effects of the coronavirus pandemic, the National Domestic Violence Hotline reported a 9% increase in contacts from March 16 to May 16. More than 6,200 contacts (calls, chats and texts) specifically cited COVID in the communication.
In Ohio, domestic violence fatalities were up about 14% from April through June, the first full months of the coronavirus outbreak captured in the new report.
The document is based on media reports throughout the state reviewed by the Ohio Domestic Violence Network and includes deaths of targeted victims, perpetrators and others at incidents involving intimate-partner relationships.
The report also found that:
• About 40% of the 109 fatalities occurred as part of a homicide-suicide, and at least 70% of all deaths were caused by guns (excluding shootings by law enforcement).
• At least 20 of the perpetrators had previously been charged with or convicted of domestic violence.
• Children were at the scene for nearly one in five cases. Four were killed, including two 2-year-old girls, a 6-year-old boy and a 17-year-old girl.
Reporter Rita Price also contributed to story’