‘Honor the lives of every survivor’: Events bring awareness to domestic violence

Clients and staff of a local shelter tied purple ribbons outside the downtown building Thursday night to honor the memories of Nevadans killed as a result of domestic violence.

October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month, and the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence says that nearly 20 people per minute are physically abused by an intimate partner in the United States — about 10 million people annually.

In Nevada, 44 percent of women and 33 percent of men experience some form of domestic violence in their lifetimes, according to the coalition.

About 50 people associated with the nonprofit Shade Tree shelter gathered for a short ceremony Thursday that included the reading of names of local domestic violence victims. Each person then walked to the sidewalk outside the shelter with a purple ribbon and flameless candle in hand.

The group walked in front of The Shade Tree sign at the corner of Main Street and Owens Avenue for a moment of silence.

“It’s really a special event to me because today we’re actually going to pause and honor the lives of every survivor,” Director of Programs Isaiah Kelley said. “It’s important to notice what a survivor is and really take time this month in October to honor them for their perseverance.”

‘Critical red flag’

Earlier in the day, Gov. Joe Lombardo — with representatives of local law enforcement, legislators and victim advocates — held a news conference at domestic violence prevention nonprofit SafeNest introducing recently passed legislation that helps victims and police in combating domestic violence.

Liz Ortenburger, CEO of the nonprofit, said that Nevada ranks as the seventh-most dangerous place in the country for women being murdered by men.

“To hear that we are such a high offender as a state is very disturbing to me,” Lombardo said.

A woman who is strangled has a 750 percent higher likelihood of being killed by their partner, Ortenburger said, describing strangulation as “such a critical red flag in our state.”

Assemblywomen Shondra Summers-Armstrong and Selena Torres explained the steps that lawmakers made in the legislative session to address domestic violence, including the enactment of laws that cover the cost of forensic exams for victims of sexual assault and strangulation; allowing telehealth forensic exams for victims; and extending the time officers have to make a probable cause domestic violence arrest from 24 hours to seven days.

“Fifty percent of survivors of strangulation have no physical signs to the naked eye,” Ortenburger said. “These exams are critical.”

According to homicide data maintained by the Las Vegas Review-Journal, nearly 30 of the approximately 150 homicides in Clark County this year were related to a domestic situation.

Metropolitan Police Department Undersheriff Andrew Walsh said at the news conference that in 2023, there have been 25 domestic violence related homicides in the department’s jurisdiction.

Walsh said domestic violence calls are the most dangerous that officers respond to because of the emotion and volatility involved.

According to Ortenburger, 80 percent of people who kill police have domestic violence in their record. And 68 percent of mass shooters have domestic violence in their past.

The Shade Tree is a 24-hour shelter that serves victims of domestic violence, homelessness and human trafficking.

For more information, visit theshadetree.org. To reach Shade Tree’s crisis hotline, call 1-855-385-0072. SafeNest’s 24/7 hotline can be reached at 702-646-4981.