Technology
SC recognizes victims of domestic violence after years of fluctuations in the state's ranking
COLUMBIA — South Carolina continues to grapple with a long and troubling history of domestic violence, particularly against women.
On Oct. 7, dozens gathered at the S.C. Statehouse for the annual Silent Witness Ceremony, where the names of 46 people killed last year by someone they loved and trusted were read aloud. Volunteers stood holding life-size cardboard silhouettes, one for each victim.
That figure exceeded the number of domestic violence homicides recorded in 2023, when 30 people were killed.
Those 46 domestic homicides included 35 women and 11 men, state Attorney General Alan Wilson told the crowd.
Some 91 percent of the incidences occurred at residences, he said.
Niwdayra Tapia, a survivor of domestic violence, told a harrowing story of abuse and resilience after her ex-boyfriend shot her.
“I stayed quiet about the abuse I was enduring because I was too concerned about our reputation,” she said. “I did not want him to go to prison, and I did not want my business to be exposed. I'm here today to beg and encourage all of you to please, do not stay quiet and to seek help.”
“Your life and well-being are more valuable than what people may think or have to say about you,” she added.
Until 2018, South Carolina did not break out of the top 10 states for domestic violence homicides, teetering between places of 1-10, according to the national non-profit Violence Policy Center.
The state was ranked 11th in 2018, but then jumped back up to 6th in 2019.
The policy center tracked domestic homicide data nationwide until 2021, when changes to the FBI’s data collection methods halted state-level breakdowns. But the center’s final reports still painted a grim picture: South Carolina remained one of the deadliest states in the country for women.
“Fifty percent of the women and men represented in today's ceremony were the mothers and fathers of children whose homes will never be the same,” Wilson said at the ceremony. “This experience will impact them long after this ceremony ends.”
COLUMBIA — South Carolina continues to grapple with a long and troubling history of domestic violence, particularly against women.
On Oct. 7, dozens gathered at the S.C. Statehouse for the annual Silent Witness Ceremony, where the names of 46 people killed last year by someone they loved and trusted were read aloud. Volunteers stood holding life-size cardboard silhouettes, one for each victim.
That figure exceeded the number of domestic violence homicides recorded in 2023, when 30 people were killed.
Those 46 domestic homicides included 35 women and 11 men, state Attorney General Alan Wilson told the crowd.
Some 91 percent of the incidences occurred at residences, he said.
Niwdayra Tapia, a survivor of domestic violence, told a harrowing story of abuse and resilience after her ex-boyfriend shot her.
“I stayed quiet about the abuse I was enduring because I was too concerned about our reputation,” she said. “I did not want him to go to prison, and I did not want my business to be exposed. I'm here today to beg and encourage all of you to please, do not stay quiet and to seek help.”
“Your life and well-being are more valuable than what people may think or have to say about you,” she added.
Until 2018, South Carolina did not break out of the top 10 states for domestic violence homicides, teetering between places of 1-10, according to the national non-profit Violence Policy Center.
The state was ranked 11th in 2018, but then jumped back up to 6th in 2019.
The policy center tracked domestic homicide data nationwide until 2021, when changes to the FBI’s data collection methods halted state-level breakdowns. But the center’s final reports still painted a grim picture: South Carolina remained one of the deadliest states in the country for women.
“Fifty percent of the women and men represented in today's ceremony were the mothers and fathers of children whose homes will never be the same,” Wilson said at the ceremony. “This experience will impact them long after this ceremony ends.”
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