HOUSTON — Two recent homicides are putting a spotlight on domestic violence in the Houston area, which experts say has one of the country’s highest rates.
Emilee D. Whitehurst, President and CEO of the Houston Area Women’s Center, says one out of every five homicides in Houston are related to domestic violence, and more than two-thirds of those involve guns.
Whitehurst also told KHOU domestic violence cases jumped 38 percent jump in the most recent year, a common trend worldwide after natural disasters like Hurricane Harvey.
“It is alarming,” Whitehurst said. “There is some real investigation that we need to do in this community to figure out what is going on.”
Whitehurst says it’s important to watch out for one partner trying to control the other, especially early in a relationship.
“It could be around finances, could be around where you go, who you see, what type of activities you engage in, and they may not be in any way abusive physically,” she said.
For one’s friends and family members, Whitehurst recommends paying attention to not only controlling and coercive behavior, but also isolation or personality changes.
“The most dangerous time for somebody is either when they’re leaving or just after they’ve left a relationship that has an abusive pattern,” she said, noting the person leaving can be “very, very vulnerable” for six months to a year after leaving.
Whitehurst says anyone thinking about leaving an abusive relationship should avoid telling their partner.
She also recommends that victim, or their friends and family, call the Houston Area Women’s Center Hotline, whose staff will help them work out a safety plan.
“This violence is not inevitable,” Whitehurst said. “We can stop it.”
Whitehurst says HAWC staff helped develop more than 5,000 safety plans in 2018 through the hotline, which can be reached at (713) 528-2121.
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