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CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Victim advocacy groups will meet from 9am to 3pm on Tuesday, February 27, 2024 at the WV state capitol for Domestic Violence (DV) Awareness Day at the Legislature.
The theme this year is “Protect victims and empower survivors.”
Survivors, families, young people, and other visitors will have the opportunity to learn about West Virginia’s DV programs—including resources and outreach available in their counties—as well as engage in hands-on activities, explore interactive games, and discover the importance of civic engagement.Victim advocacy groups will meet from 9am to 3pm on Tuesday, February 27, 2024 at the WV state capitol for Domestic Violence (DV) Awareness Day at the Legislature.
In 2023, WVCADV’s 14 licensed domestic violence programs provided 24/7 crisis intervention services in all 55 counties, serving 11,557 adults and 1,537 children. This included 68,840 shelter nights, 149,152 service hours, and 6510 domestic violence protective orders filed.
DV services help protect victims from further harm, as well as preventing DV-related deaths. And the cost of these life-saving services is so much less than the devastating loss of life.
Services that help keep victims safe include safety planning assistance, support obtaining protective orders, court accompaniment services, emergency shelter, education/awareness efforts, and community resource referrals.
“These services save money and empower survivors with what they need to be able to live violence free,” said Tonia Thomas, Team Coordinator for the West Virginia Coalition Against Domestic Violence (WVCADV). “It makes sense for legislators to invest in a safer state of family.”
The CDC calculated the average cost to the economy of a DV-related death to be $713,000, including direct medical and mental health care services. But the lifetime cost of providing services is only $103,767 for a female victim and $23,414 for a male victim, saving an average of more than half a million dollars per death prevented.
“This is a clear case where doing the right thing is also doing the fiscally responsible thing,” explained Joyce Yedlosky, Team Coordinator for WVCADV.
All this is why service providers say DV Day at the Legislature is so important: it’s a day when West Virginians from around the state who do the work—including shelter workers, advocates, law enforcement, prosecutors, public defenders, and more—gather to educate lawmakers as part of an effort to increase victim safety and promote policies that hold perpetrators accountable.
Advocates say WV Code can become more equitable, and far better at protecting victims and empowering survivors. They say legislators have the opportunity every year to adopt better public policy by being informed by the voices of West Virginia survivors.
The DV groups will have a presence all day on the lower rotunda.