COVINGTON, Ky. — October is domestic violence awareness month. Domestic violence takes shape in many forms in acts of intimidation, power, control, and physical abuse. 

What You Need To Know

  • The National Coalition Against Domestic Violence reports more than 10 million adults experience physical abuse annually

  • Officials with the Ion Center for Violence Prevention in Covington say Kentucky has the highest rate of interpersonal violence for women in the country at 45.3%.

  • Those with the Ion Center say the pandemic and a housing crisis have impacted those they try to help daily

  • They also say they’re working on more community outreach and education to allow for more bystander help in the public eye

“But we know it has so many other components. Emotional abuse is another huge component. Name calling, making people feel so less than. Emotional abuse — that gaslighting that people talk about. All of that is a big piece of it. Financial abuse,” Christy Burch, CEO at the Ion Center for Violence Prevention, said.

Burch said she’s been in this line of work for nearly three decades. “It’s a calling kind of path — that we can truly create safer communities, that we can truly create life-saving services and offer those. And every single day I’m humbled and honored to do this work.”

Statistics show that more than 10 million adults could face physical abuse annually in these intimate partner situations. Burch also said Kentucky has the highest rate of interpersonal violence for women in the country at 45.3%. That’s higher than a national average statistic at 23.3%. When 2020 hit, she said her line of work was needed as people were stuck at home during a health crisis worldwide.

“Domestic violence thrives in isolation. You add a pandemic to that that really requires that for public health and it really is this double barrier for people,” she said.

She said they’ve dipped into creative mindsets to stay open and provide to people in need more, even opening a text crisis line to make sure people have several avenues of help available to them. She also mentioned a housing crisis has proven to be an issue to some people walking in needing help out of bad situations.

“We have a particular client right now that has put in over two hundred housing applications, and has not been able to get that kind of permanent housing to get to the next step in her healing process,” Burch said.

The Ion Center has shelters and safe space available for those in need. While they work to keep people moving forward out of bad situations, they’re also trying to educate and get community engagement up through different outreach and education.

“Whether it’s causing a distraction when they see a couple fighting, maybe it’s delegating while they call 911 or a security guard, or it’s actually going up to people and saying hey stop doing what you’re doing,” Burch said.

If you or someone you know needs help, the national domestic violence hotline is 800-799-7233. You can also text START to 88788. 

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