'Silent Witness' Service To Draw Attention To Victims Of Domestic Violence In Michigan
WEST BLOOMFIELD (WWJ) - Every three days in Michigan a man, woman or child dies as a result of domestic violence.
Henry Ford West Bloomfield hospital Registered nurse Trish Klassa says as a society we need to discuss domestic violence and it starts with healthcare providers.
"As health care providers we can inquire about abuse and a survey at Haven women said they want to be asked about abuse, they tell us 'Why didn't you ask I would have told you,'" Klassa told WWJ Health Reporter Dr. Deanna Lites.
Klassa says domestic violence can include more than just physical abuse.
"There's psychological abuse, name calling, using the children to control another person, economic abuse, not giving the victim access to food, money, a vehicle," Klassa said.
As part of National Domestic Violence Awareness Month, a Silent Witness Commemoration Service for victims of domestic violence will be held this Friday, Oct. 24 at 2 p.m. , at Henry Ford West Bloomfield Hospital
The name of each victim of domestic violence in Michigan in 2013 will be read and remembered as a bell is rung. An additional bell will be rung to remember those uncounted victims.
Silent Witness figures, life-sized red wooden figures carved in the resemblance of a victim, will be displayed in the hospital atrium. Each one bears the name and story of a woman whose life ended during the past year by domestic violence. An additional figure will represent the uncounted women whose deaths were not identified as being victims of domestic violence, but ruled as accidental.
Learn more about the Silent Witness initiative, HERE.