THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, June 22, 1994 TAG: 9406220456
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY ANGIE MARBURY, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: 940622 LENGTH: Medium
``I'm pregnant and my husband locked me out of the house.''
``My husband held a gun and threatened to kill me if I left him.''
Calls about domestic violence are on the rise at local battered-women's shelters since the arrest of O.J. Simpson on charges of killing his ex-wife - a woman he once beat so severely she sought hospital care for split lips, head bruises and a black eye.
{REST} At the Help and Emergency Response Center in Portsmouth, for instance, the average number of calls a day has increased from 30 to 50.
``It (abuse) happens all the time. It's just not recognized until something like this happens,'' said Alexandra Martin, a counselor at the shelter.
But while many believe the Simpson case will increase the awareness of domestic violence, one shelter director is afraid the effect on battered women will be chilling.
``If anything, it may cause them to hesitate because the violence may escalate if they attempt to leave,'' said Ellen Ferber, executive director of the Samaritan House in Virginia Beach. ``Women who are battered know that they are battered. Something happening with a celebrity would not cause them to act. They have to know when it is a safe time to do that.''
Domestic violence is the No. 1 cause of injury to American women, and has been for decades, experts on abuse say.
About 26,000 women in Virginia were victims of domestic violence last year - an 11 percent increase from figures reported in 1992, according to Virginians Against Domestic Violence.
Nationally, 1,500 battered women are killed each year by their abusers, according to The Women's Center, a resource center in suburban Washington. An estimated 4 million to 6 million women are beaten. That means once every five seconds, somewhere in the United States, a woman is punched or kicked or thrown against a wall or held down and pummeled.
``I tell them it doesn't have to be physical. It can be emotional, verbal and spiritual,'' Martin said.
The Portsmouth shelter is housing its maximum of 25 women and has been referring calls for help to other shelters in the area.
``At least there's one thing positive coming out of the case,'' Martin said of the Simpson case. ``At least they're calling now, where before they would have thought, `Well this is a normal situation.' ''
Phones also have been busy for counselors at a statewide abuse hot line.
``I would hope that people will see, when there's a history of abuse, how dangerous their situation is,'' said Joy Wright, hot-line coordinator for Virginians Against Domestic Violence.
Wright said that before the case, the hot line received on average two to three calls each evening. Now they receive six or seven.
Counselors offer support and referrals to local programs. But more important, they help the caller determine if her life is in danger.
``Generally, awareness has got to be up,'' said Cheryl Bonneville, executive director for the YWCA, which manages a shelter in Norfolk. Bonneville reported an increase in calls to the shelter, which is housing 31 women - six over capacity.
At the Portsmouth shelter, Martin helps callers decide how and when to leave, but the fear, she said, is always there.
``I asked one lady if she wanted to do something about her situation, and she said, `No, it wouldn't do any good. Nothing happened to him (O.J. Simpson). He'll just get angrier and I'm sorry, I just don't feel like getting killed right now.' ''
{KEYWORDS} WIFE BEATING DOMESTIC VIOLENCE SHELTER SPOUSAL ABUSE
by CNB