COLUMBUS, Ohio — October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month and every year at this time, state advocates put a spotlight on the work to prevent domestic violence and explain what needs to come next.

Officials said new research shows the pandemic compounded the crisis over the last year.

"We just have to do better," said Bridget Mahoney, former Board Chair of the Ohio Domestic Violence Network.

Advocates focused on ending domestic violence said it was already an epidemic in Ohio prior to COVID-19. They said stay-at-home orders and extreme isolation only made things worse.​

According to the Ohio Domestic Violence Network, 131 people died in domestic violence cases from July 2020 to July 2021. That is a 20% increase during the same time period last year and a 62% increase from two years ago.

ODVN said it gathered its data from media reports and information from its 75 member programs. The data suggests at least 86% of the fatalities were caused by guns.

"ODVN stands today in remembrance of the lives lost to domestic violence and the families and communities mourning those losses," said ODVN Policy Director Micaela Deming.

ODVN's annual fatality count was announced at its yearly Domestic Violence Awareness Month event Tuesday at the Statehouse. Of those that died, 15 were children, the most since the coalition began counting.

"The day that you abuse or neglect your children is the day that you have truly hit rock bottom. And again, it needs to be a priority for the state and it absolutely is," said State Rep. Cindy Abrams, R-Harrison.

This year’s event honored eight lawmakers including Abrams and Sen. Nickie Antonio, D-Lakewood, who received the annual Croucher Family Award.

Representatives Laura Lanese, R-Grove City; Phil Plummer, R-Dayton; Rick Carfagna, R-Genoa Township; Janine Boyd, D-Cleveland Heights; and senators Stephanie Kunze, R-Hilliard; and Matt Dolan, R-Chagrin Falls; received ODVN’s new Leadership in Policy Award. 

The General Assembly increased state funding for domestic violence programs in the latest budget to $7.5 million over the next two years, and while ODVN celebrated that Tuesday, the network wants to see certain bills passed to protect children and spousal survivors of domestic violence as well as bail reform.​​

"Because of all of our team efforts, we can prevent domestic violence and somewhere down the road, we can eliminate it,” said Mahoney. “We can one day say there is no more.”