PHOENIX — Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell is encouraging domestic violence victims suffering in silence to speak up.
October is recognized as Domestic Violence Awareness Month.
Domestic Violence often goes underreported as it most often happens behind closed doors without witnesses.
“It makes it a difficult case to investigate. It makes it a difficult case to prosecute, but it is not by any means an impossible case to investigate or prosecute," Mitchell said.
The Maricopa County Attorney's Office (MCAO) handled more than 4,000 cases in 2022.
Of those cases, 168 were classified as aggravated domestic violence and 714 were strangulation.
Mitchell said they're on track to have similar numbers this year.
“You’re not what has happened to you and that your traumas don’t define you," a survivor of domestic violence said. “I remember thinking that I didn’t deserve help, thinking that it was my fault, that I was in this situation, thinking that it had to be me and me alone to fix this, to dig myself out of this hole while I was simultaneously drowning.”
A survivor of domestic violence joined Mitchell in encouraging victims to seek help through loved ones, hotlines and shelters.
“The fastest way for us to help you is for you to ask for help," Mitchell said. “I can guarantee you having prosecuted this type of case and similar cases for 25 years that the devil you know is not better than the devil you don’t know.”
A victim will leave their abuser up to 12 times before leaving for the last time, according to MCAO.
Experts said violence is at its worst when a victim tries to leave the relationship.
“You need to know that the police and the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office will do everything within our power to hold your abuser accountable for what they’ve done," Mitchell said.
There are many shelters open in the Valley, including Chicanos Por La Causa De Colores, New Life Center, and Hope Women's Center.
“Living as a victim of domestic violence felt impossible and becoming a survivor was so hard, but now I get to live, I get to thrive," a survivor of domestic violence said.
12News En Español is partnering with Chicanos Por La Causa to host an event at 6850 W. Indian School Road on Saturday, Oct. 21 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. More than 30 organizations will be on site offering free medical services and legal advice.
The National Domestic Violence Hotline is available 24/7 in English and Spanish. Call 1-800-799-7233. Messages can also be sent to the hotline by texting START to 88788.
If you are in immediate danger, call 911.
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