Action to end domestic violence
uesday, March 7 was “Action Day” in Minnesota – a statewide day designated to end domestic violence.
Unfortunately, every community struggles with domestic violence. Dodge County is no exception. It happens here in Dodge County and throughout Minnesota. We stand with more than 20 other communities across our state to say, “No more domestic violence.”
Over the past 28 years nearly 1,000 Minnesotans have been killed as a result of domestic violence. That is three people every month over the course of 28 years. In Minnesota more than 65,000 survivors of rape and abuse will reach out for services this year. Many more will never make contact with services. Still others will suffer and navigate abuse in isolation.
The victims of domestic violence are not just names you read in the newspaper or hear on the TV. They were real people – sisters, daughters, mothers, and grandmothers. We believe that each victim deserves the same recognition and commitment from our office to do everything in our power to help eliminate domestic and sexual violence from our homes and from our communities. Each time someone is murdered due to domestic violence in our state, our Women’s Shelter advocates here in Dodge County display a “Live Free Without Violence” flag. They raised the flag 21 times in 2016.
Please think of the family members and friends who were tragically murdered as a result of domestic violence in Minnesota last year. The youngest of these victims was 10 years old, the oldest 85. At least eight children were present at the time of their mother’s murder. Fourteen minor children were left motherless and two were shot alongside their mother who survived but they did not.
In Courtney Monson’s case, her children, ages 12 and 9, begged Bryce Monson to spare them and their younger sibling. They carried their 2-year-old sister to safety after watching their mother shot dead. Eighteen adult women were murdered in 2016. Most were killed in their own home but some were murdered in public, including their work places. Barbara Larson was shot and killed by her ex-husband at her work place in Rice County at the very end of last year. Victims came from all different walks of life; some were students, some artists, some even worked for the government. They all wanted to continue to live their lives, but that was taken away. To the family and friends of these victims, their memory will never be forgotten.
Here are the names of those killed during Domestic Violence incidents in Minnesota in 2016:
1. Kimberly Kay Hernandez
2. Trisha Lynn Nelson
3. Tanya Jean Skinaway
4. Courtney Monson
5. Barbara Wilson
6. Tasha Lynn Hanson
7. Lyuba Savenok
8. Beverly Miller
9. Ashley Hasti
10. Melissa Norby
11. Elizabeth Thompson
12. Danielle Denney
13. Rebecca Drewlo
14. Nahily Ronquillo
15. Luis Ronquillo
16. Elisa Gomez
17. Roberto Bernabe Cortez
18. Lynn Marie Josephson
19. Margaret Flath
20. Amy Allwine
21. Barbara Larson
We recognize these victims by remembering names and honoring their lives and committing to continue to work together as a community to end domestic violence.
If you are a victim of domestic violence, please seek help thru Dodge County’s Women Shelter Advocates, Dodge County Human Services, or the Dodge County Sheriff’s Office. If you have a friend or family member that you believe has been a victim of domestic violence, please report it. The only way we can put an end to domestic violence in our communities is if we stand up and speak out against it.
Your Sheriff,
Scott
Scott Rose has been the sheriff of Dodge County since 2015. He writes a monthly column in this newspaper and the columns can also be found on the county’s website.
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