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Domestic-violence service group reports rising demand, high rates of strangulation among local clients
Summary
Amber Malott of Women Helping Women told the committee the organization served roughly 4,487 Cincinnati residents in 2024 and about 3,553 year-to-date through Q3, and highlighted rising lethality indicators — including reports of strangulation and gun threats — and gaps in coordinated fatality review and forensic-reimbursement funding.
Amber Malott, vice president of programming at nonprofit Women Helping Women, told the Cincinnati City Council’s Public Safety and Governance Committee that demand for domestic-violence services is increasing and that survivors the organization serves are reporting high rates of severe violence.
Malott said Women Helping Women served 4,487 Cincinnati residents in 2024 and has served about 3,553 city residents year to date through the third quarter; she projected the total could reach about 5,000 by year-end. She said last year the organization delivered more than 18,000 services to clients and has provided more than 13,000 services so far this year.
Malott emphasized lethality indicators: she said 55% of survivors the organization serves report strangulation, 20% report the presence of a gun during incidents, and 31% report threats of homicide or suicide. “That is extremely alarming for us,” she said, calling strangulation “one of the highest lethality indicators.”
She described Divert as a 24-hour police-response program in which trained advocates (specialists in domestic and sexual violence) are dispatched to scenes referred through the Cincinnati Police Department; advocates arrive to provide immediate safety planning and to connect survivors with longer-term supports. Malott also said Women Helping Women places advocates at 26 local hospitals to assist with forensic exams and victim support.
In response to council questions, Malott said the nonprofit collaborates with 311 and with child-welfare agencies, participates in a Hamilton County Domestic Violence Task Force (which meets regularly), and wants to revive or expand fatality-review work to better coordinate cross-agency responses. She also noted a concern that forensic exams and related services face reimbursement challenges that can limit hospital capacity to provide kits and follow-up services.
Vice Mayor Milat, Councilmember Jeffreys and Councilmember Albee thanked the group and asked about data interpretation — whether recent increases reflect higher incidence or better reporting. Malott said improved tracking and closer collaboration with law enforcement may account for some of the rise but that the underlying violence and lethality indicators are of genuine concern.
The committee filed the presentation into the record and requested staff follow-up where appropriate.
