By Migael Scherer
Special to the Weekly
With a striking display on the Community Center lawn, Lopez joins communities across the nation to commemorate National Domestic Violence Awareness Month. Twenty-six red silhouettes bear silent witness to the 26 men and women killed last year in Washington State as a result of domestic violence.
Each silhouette includes the person’s name and age, as well as the date and description of their death at the hands of a partner, husband, ex-husband or acquaintance. Ten men and 16 women are represented, ranging in age from 21 to 97. The powerful installation includes a weatherproof box with brochures and schedules of activities for the month.
The Silent Witness Project is part of a larger campaign in October to promote conversations about healthy relationships, with goals of awareness, education, hope and healing. Silent Witness began in 1990 with a group of Minnesota writers and artists, and now encompasses 50 states and 23 countries.
Noting that a Silent Witness display had been installed the past two years at the Courthouse in Friday Harbor, local Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Services Advocate Kristina Moen wanted “our own project on Lopez”, and inspired others to join her. The board of the Lopez Center for Community and the Arts gave permission for use of its highly visible site. All work on the installation was by volunteers, using materials donated by Lopez residents and businesses. Orcas will also have its first installation this year on the Village Green in Eastsound.
“We encourage people to walk among the silhouettes and read their stories,” Moen says. “They were someone’s mother, sister, child, friend, brother, grandchild. Leave flowers if you wish.”
A public vigil will be held on the Lopez Center lawn at 5 p.m. on Wed. Oct. 22, with a short ceremony to remember the victims.
Other activities this month include the movie “Sleeping with the Enemy” Saturday Oct. 18 at 7 p.m. in the Lopez Library, and prevention activities at Lopez Island School from Oct. 20-24. On Thursday Oct. 16, Open Mic at the Joinery will donate a portion of its proceeds to DVSAS. All Lopez residents are encouraged to “Share the Warmth” by donating 25 cents for every warm beverage consumed throughout the month, via donation jars in Caffe La Boheme, Holly B’s, Isabel’s, Lopez Village Market Deli and Southend General Store.
Domestic violence takes many forms of power and control – verbal, emotional, physical. In Washington State, fatalities dropped last year from 35 in 2012 to 26 – the lowest in 17 years of data collection. “This is the ray of hope we have been waiting to see,” says Kim Bryan, executive director of DVSAS. There were no domestic violence fatalities in San Juan County in 2013. In nearby mainland counties, 2 were in Skagit, 2 in Snohomish, and 1 in Whatcom.
DVSAS’s 24-hour help line on Lopez is 468-4567. In non-emergencies, DVSAS advocate Kristina Moen can be reached at 468-3788 or kristina@dvsassanjuans.org.
More info is available online at dvsassanjuans.org and at silentwitness.net.
