South Carolina ranked 5 in women killed by men…again
Jazmyne Boozer, Assitant Editor
Photo Courtesy of Pixabay
South Carolina may be riddled with great barbecue, beautiful open plains, good Christian morals and fine southern values, yet there seems to be an ironic and dark fact hovering over the state. South Carolina is ranked number five in the nation concerning men on women violence.
This marks 20 years of South Carolina being ranked within the top 10 of the domestic violence reports. According to the Department of Public Safety in South Carolina, 74 percent of the victims were women and girls. Of these victims, 53 percent of them where of Caucasian. However, minorities are 67 percent more likely to be victimized.
Not only this, but wives make up a whopping 80 percent of the victims; just topping out over ex-wives at 79 percent. An even more chilling statistic is that Greenville County reported the most domestic sexual violence victims. Of these instances, most of the time the women are being shot and killed, with guns topping the list of weapons followed by knives then fists.
To combat this issue, in 2015, Governor Nikki Haley signed a bill condemning domestic violence and disputes. The goal of this bill was to add harsher punishments to the offenders while also giving more resources to those that were affected. This bill also put gun restriction on repeat offenders of assault or domestic violence. If a batterer were seen with a gun in their possession, they would be heavily fined with possible jail time.
“I absolutely think this bill will save lives,” Haley stated.
A bit of controversy swarmed the bill as some Democrats believed that the bill only punished the offenders and did not focus on the rehabilitation of them. The key, they feel, is dealing with the root of domestic violence over the punishment of it.
The saddest issue of this is that most of these women know their offender. Whether it is a boyfriend, friend, fiancée, spouse or even ex-spouse, women are being killed by men in their lives who seemingly care about them the most. So, how can women protect themselves? Catherine Nelson, who has taken self-defense for the past eight years and is a second-degree purple belt in judo, gives women the following tips:
1.) Have a confident stature. Having a more confident stature will make you appear less vulnerable
2.) Eye contact. When you look at someone in the eyes it says to someone “I am aware of you” or “I see what you are doing.” This will make any offender think twice about messing with you.
3.) Walk in groups in unfamiliar places. Even having a guy you trust with you will help.
4.) Trust your gut and get out if necessary.
5.) Knowing a bit of martial arts always helps.
If you or someone you know is or has been a victim of domestic violence they can call the domestic violence national hotline at 1-800-799-7233.
