A Call for Media Action

Summer in Pennsylvania turned out to be incredibly dangerous and deadly. But not because of stifling heat waves or raging storms. Rather, it was domestic violence that took its toll and claimed lives here in our commonwealth.

From June 22, to July 22, 2008, 17 Pennsylvania counties experienced 18 lethal domestic violence incidents involving shootouts, manhunts, standoffs, multiple murders and suicides. (Allegheny, Berks, Blair, Cambria, Clearfield, Dauphin, Delaware, Fayette, Franklin, Lackawanna, Lancaster, Lebanon, Philadelphia, Potter, Somerset, Susquehanna, Washington)

The carnage left 31 people dead – 21 of them were victims, including a 13-year-old girl shot by her father, a 2-year-old girl and 11-month-old boy, asphyxiated by their father who also killed their mother, and a 14-month-old girl, ejected from a car that was rammed into a concrete barrier by another car driven by her father. Eight were perpetrators who committed suicide; one was shot in self-defense and one man was killed in a shootout with another man, reportedly in a fight over a woman. Firearms were used in 13 of the 18 total incidents..

Law enforcement response to the crime scenes involved at least 30 municipal police departments, seven state police barracks, two Special Emergency Response Teams (SERT), and volunteer fire departments, ambulance services and local fire police. An 8-hour manhunt for one of the killers also involved Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, State Game Commission, two K-9 units, helicopters, Park Rangers, Bureau of Forestry and Red Cross. Another incident involved both the FBI and the U.S. Marshals.

The loss of life is profound as is the impact of the loss on those left behind, especially the children – the five who were orphaned and the fourteen who lost one of their parents as a result of these terrible tragedies that forever altered their families and their futures.

And on the other side of the yellow tape, families, friends and neighbors are reeling and questioning how and why such bad things happened and what could have prevented them.

The media can play a critical role in searching for answers and also reassuring those who live in fear behind closed doors that help is available. And Pennsylvania Coalition Against Domestic Violence and your local domestic violence program can assist you in that effort. We can offer statistics and expertise as you develop your stories. We can link you to survivors and family members of domestic violence homicide victims who are ready to talk about their experiences. We can provide local and national hotline numbers, and a list of shelters and programs for those who are battered and intervention services for those who batter. We can offer safety tips for victims and recommend actions people can take in their everyday lives to respond to domestic violence. We can also detail legislative proposals that are languishing in the state legislature waiting for the political will to push them through to passage.

What we cant do is change the publics attitudes about, and indifference to, domestic violence. We cant get them to recognize that the safety of victims and the accountability of batterers reach far beyond the doors of the local domestic violence program and police department; that we all share responsibility.

Its ironic and not at all surprising that, as these murders were taking place, the Violence Policy Center issued a new report ranking Pennsylvania fourth in the nation for murder-suicides. This study looked at a six-month period in 2007 of all national murder-suicides, not just those that are attributed to domestic violence. But considering six murder-suicides related to domestic violence have been committed in just over three weeks in Pennsylvania, sadly, we are likely to be on track for another deadly ranking next year.

We say its not surprising since each year PCADV chronicles and reports on domestic violence-related fatalities in Pennsylvania. Each year, the numbers are high and the killings are horrendous. And each year, the public response is negligible and the political impact nonexistent.

As a member of the media, you have the greatest power to influence public opinion, effect change and make Pennsylvania safer for all of our families. Your support literally can mean the difference between life and death. We invite you to share our outrage and spread the word that domestic violence is not to be tolerated, that FREE and CONFIDENTIAL help is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and that we all share the responsibility to keep victims of domestic violence, their children and our communities safe.