Talk openly about domestic violence

A letter from Lynn Casteel Harper, published Sunday, was sent to reporter Bridget DiCosmo as a personal message. Here is the letter that was sent for publication.

To the editor:

The recent shootings in Jackson tragically turn our attention to the plague of domestic violence. While the events in Jackson were particularly savage, violence in the home is not uncommon. For many women, their homes, instead of providing safety, are life-threatening places for them and their children. It would be safer for these women to walk the streets of East St. Louis alone than to be in their homes with their partners.

Judge Peter Statler stated that 15 to 20 ex parte orders are ordered each day in Cape Girardeau County. Undoubtedly, many orders are requested by women threatened by their partners. Undoubtedly, many more women feel unsafe but have not sought legal help.

These women are not strangers. They are your co-workers, neighbors, friends and sisters. They sit next to you in church and stand behind you in the grocery store line.

These abusers are not strangers either. They are your co-workers, neighbors, friends and brothers. They sit next to you in church and stand behind you in the grocery store line.

Perpetrators isolate their victims, so often victims do not talk about abuse or seek help. Domestic violence may not be "grocery store line conversation," but it still exists. One in four women suffers abuse from a partner.

Domestic violence does not have to exist. As a minister, I talk openly from the pulpit about domestic violence. I encourage teachers, preachers, politicians, poets, parents -- anyone with listeners -- to talk about domestic violence and how we can work together to end it.

LYNN CASTEEL HARPER, Princeton, N.J.