DeKalb County commissioners on Oct. 14 proclaimed October as National Domestic Violence Awareness Month and recognized local partners who provide victim services.

Presiding officer Michelle Long Spears read the proclamation into the record and noted statistics cited in the proclamation: that a woman in the U.S. is beaten or assaulted every nine seconds and that Georgia reported 42,184 incidents of family violence in 2024. The proclamation also cited a state-level count of 163 domestic violence deaths in 2023 and stated that 15 of those occurred in DeKalb County (the proclamation text). The board invited Jean Douglas, executive director of the Women's Resource Center to End Domestic Violence, to address the commission.

Jean Douglas told the commissioners the Women's Resource Center, founded with county help in 1986 after a local domestic-violence fatality, has served more than 100,000 victims over nearly 40 years. Douglas said the center had recently merged with the Calvary Crisis Center and was now the Women's Resource Center to End Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault; she also said the county saw higher domestic-violence fatalities than in prior reporting and that the center's candlelight vigil was scheduled for Oct. 16 at the Chapel On Sycamore in Decatur.

The board presented a formal proclamation and recognized local law-enforcement and victim-support partners in the dais photo session.

What this means: The proclamation is ceremonial but underscores county support for coordinated prosecution and victim services; staff and partner agencies will continue outreach and the Women's Resource Center will hold its annual vigil Oct. 16.