In recognition of October as Domestic Violence Awareness Month, the Zonta Club of Elizabethtown, USA, recently held it’s Seventh annual Domestic Violence Awareness Walk.

Club members and participants carried signs along Ring Road in front of Derm Specialist and Blue Oval businesses to draw attention to the issue. Signs were then posted along the road and will remain up until the end of October.

Kentucky has the second-highest ranking for domestic violence in the nation. There were 7,964 arrests in 2024.

In the last reporting period for fatalities, 2023, Kentucky had 26 deaths, and all were women. Nineteen of these were gun violence-related. SpringHaven Domestic Violence Program, serving the eight counties in the area, served 181 domestic violence victims in the shelter and 883 others.

Club President Linda Funk reported that in the five weeks prior to the walk, the local paper reported arrests for 12 domestic violence-related assaults, six strangulation charges, one EPO violation, a dating violence arrest, a rape, and a September article that referenced a June incident involving a father shooting a gun at the mother of his 6-year-old child during a visitation transfer.

The guest speaker for the walk, John Wright, director of public relations for the Hardin County Schools, said there are 14,600 students in the system, and the issue of children experiencing domestic violence is a concern.

Wright said there are 3,000-plus staff in HCS, and fortunately, a good portion of them are ladies, and if not, schools likely would not function as well.

In thanking Wright, Funk encouraged everyone to speak out against violence and especially asked that men speak up and be a voice against domestic violence.

Zonta’s Mission, both locally and internationally, is to advocate against gender-based violence. Zonta also advocates against child marriage, human trafficking, and addresses issues of fairness and equality for women and girls academically and in the workplace. Additionally, Zonta has an interest in promoting awareness of climate change and its impact on women.

For information about Zonta, go to Facebook or for meetings or membership inquiries, call or text Kelly Roark at 270-401-8141.

Read the full article here: https://www.thenewsenterprise.com/features/neighbors/zonta-hosts-domestic-violence-awareness-walk/article_b9ac5ee8-f0f5-5c24-9f5b-9bedd084ba98.html