By: Brian Shappell
The Domestic Violence Committee of the South Brunswick Commission on Women wants to send the message that violence of all kinds should not be tolerated.
The committee will be holding its annual Humanity March and Anti-Violence Celebration at 8:45 a.m. Saturday starting at the Municipal Center. Committee chairwoman Mayor Debra Johnson said she expects to double the 100-person attendance from last year’s event, then titled "Enough is Enough."
The committee is sponsoring the march to raise awareness about the problems of violence, especially domestic violence, and services available to victims.
"We want to send the message that this community does not accept violence of any kind," Mayor Johnson said.
The free event will begin with a breakfast followed by a flag ceremony, a ceremonial planting and a talk from Dr. Ruth Koenig, an expert on domestic violence issues. The event will switch venues to the South Brunswick High School by way of a 2.2 mile walk.
At the high school, participants will be greeted with programs featuring guest speaker Dr. Janet Rosenweig, director of Prevent Child Abuse N.J. and a performance by Rutgers University performing artists SCREAM.
Mayor Johnson said the event is a necessity because domestic violence and school violence are an ongoing problem in the local community and beyond. She also said that cases of domestic violence require even more attention because they are often not dealt with publicly.
According the Uniform Crime Report of 2001, there were 144 reported incidents of domestic violence in 2000 and 129 in 1999.
"You would never know it’s a problem because it is kept so quiet," Mayor Johnson said.
Out of the 80,681 domestic violence offenses reported in 1999 in New Jersey, only 32 percent led to arrests, according to a 1999 state report done in conjunction with police departments, government officials and members of the clergy.
Though crime as a whole in New Jersey was down 26 percent from 1995 to 1999, the instances of domestic violence went down only 6 percent during the same time period.
The report recommended that more support systems need to be in place to help victims through the process of filing a complaint, going through the legal system and using the social service programs. It also said domestic violence cases are not taken as seriously by police, the legal system and social services, as other violent crimes.
Mayor Johnson said she has a particularly strong interest in increasing awareness on violence because of her experiences as a volunteer at battered women’s shelters and rape crisis centers while a law school student at the University of California Los Angeles.
Mayor Johnson said despite the slight decrease in the number of cases of domestic violence, it is still one of the most serious problems the township is facing. She said education is key to addressing the issue of domestic and other types of violence.
"I don’t think we should wait for something to become an epidemic to say ‘enough is enough, we don’t accept this’," said Mayor Johnson. "It’s never occurred to me to wait until it gets ugly."
