DENISE BROWN TELLS OF SISTER NICOLE'S ABUSE

POPLAR BLUFF -- Domestic violence is no accident. Rather, it's the result of a bad match.

Without education and swift intervention, the abuse will only get worse.

So proclaimed Denise Brown, whose sister, Nicole Brown-Simpson, kept details of an abusive relationship with O.J. Simpson hidden in a diary.

"I didn't even know how bad it really was until after she was murdered," Denise Brown said during a press conference at the Holiday Inn in Poplar Bluff Saturday.

"People who are abused feel they have these dirty little secrets that they can't share with anyone," she said. "They keep going back to the violence because they either have low self-esteem or they think somehow it's their fault."

She said that women who blame themselves for the abuse they endure foster one of the "biggest myths about domestic violence."

This marked only the second time that Denise Brown has spoken in Missouri. Her first speaking engagement took place in Columbia March 3.

"After we went through her things, we realized Nicole was dealing with something that many women in this country experience on a daily basis," Brown said. "What I couldn't understand is why she didn't come forward when we would have lunch after she had a fight at home. Looking back on it, I can see how it happened."

Such a realization led to the birth of the Nicole Brown-Simpson Charitable Foundation. The foundation raises funds to enable Brown to speak to shelters such as the Haven House in Poplar Bluff.

"We can't bring Nicole back, but we can honor the memory of her by educating battered women and showing them that there is no excuse for abuse," Brown said. Brown has abandoned a career in sales to speak about domestic violence.

She was the featured speaker for the Haven House's 10th anniversary banquet Saturday night.

Since she began speaking to audiences about domestic violence five months ago, Brown has been shocked at the brutal consequences of abuse. She said domestic abuse often involves all members of the family.

"A woman's husband was telling his son to burn her on the neck with a cigarette," Brown said. "Instead of getting away from that kind of environment, she wanted to go back. It's a vicious cycle that begins with mental anguish and escalates into physical abuse."

Haven House director Mary Ann Allen said Brown can command audiences that she or any of her peers are unable to capture. "If I call a press conference, who is going to show?" Allen said. "We're fortunate that someone like Denise Brown is willing to raise community awareness about domestic abuse."

Brown's only motive is to educate the public.

"When I was in Atlanta, a woman accused me of exploiting the death of my sister," Brown said. "I told her that every $5 spent for admission goes to help the shelter, not me."

Brown addressed members of the Poplar Bluff Police Department earlier in the day.

"I can't change the way people treat each other in a community," she said. "Communities have to start programs to help themselves."