A woman is beaten every 18 seconds, according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
In an attempt to help combat this violence, the Orange/Durham Coalition for Battered Women recently created positions for two new staff advocates with a $66,568 state grant.
The money is a portion of the $8.6 million awarded by the state to the City of Durham under the federal government's Victims of Crime Act. A total of 64 other battered women's programs in North Carolina, including the Rape Crisis Center of Durham, are receiving funding from this grant.
The coalition appointed Annette Sheppard to the position of law enforcement liaison and Beth Froelhing to the position of court advocate on Sept. 20. The group worked with North Carolina residents and community leaders to develop this year's plan for using the grant money.
Sheppard's job will require her to work with the local police and sheriff's departments as well as contact battered women to inform them of available services after local authorities get involved.
"My job isÉ to connect them with sources to restore their personal safety, coping mechanisms, sense of empowerment and self-esteem," she said.
In many instances, battered women are unable to leave their husbands out of fear and emotional or financial dependence. The liaison allows the coalition to take the first step in helping women get out of abusive situations instead of waiting for women to call them.
Froelhing also helps women to improve their situations. As a court advocate, she helps battered women fill out restraining orders, prepares them for civil and criminal court and accompanies them to court for the hearings and trials.
"I will be working in the judicial system helping women understand the legal system and helping make it more accessible and easier to navigate," Froehling said.
As a result of the positions, the coalition expects a minimum of 400 women to begin using its services within the next year. The coalition will likely submit a request for a new grant next year.
The University also plays a role in providing help for the coalition. Students from the School of Law volunteer to accompany women to court, and the Alpha Phi Omega service fraternity raises money for the coalition.
"The [coalition] is our fund-raising project for the year. We also go there weekly to help with child care while parents are in classes," said Trinity junior Kim Davis, APO service chair.
Last year, the coalition operated a 24-hour hotline, support groups for victims of domestic abuse, a shelter for battered women and their children, and a program called CHANGE, which provides counseling for men who batter.
The coalition was founded in 1977 by a group of abuse victims who wanted to create a shelter where battered women could seek financial and emotional support. Help for battered women was a new concept then, said Becky Auman of the coalition, as wife-beating is an historically acceptable practice.
"Until the 1980s in the United States, it was a felony to steal a dog, but okay for a man to hit his wife," Auman said.
Domestic violence affects all types of women and crosses all socioeconomic barriers, she said.
"Domestic violence is the greatest cause of injury to women between the ages of 15 and 44 and results in more violence to women than rape, car wrecks, and muggings combined," she said.
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