Hubbard House CEO Gail Patin plants a row of purple flags in front of the Duval County Courthouse on Sept. 29, 2023. Each flag represented a victim of domestic abuse who filed an injunction against their abuser. | Dan Scanlan
Published on October 4, 2024 at 11:30 am
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October is recognized, among other things, as Domestic Violence Awareness Month, and the Jacksonville sheriff took the occasion this week to share a Duval update. And it’s a good one: Overall, instances of domestic violence homicides are down on the First Coast, to their lowest level since 2015.
In Duval County in 2023, there were 10 domestic violence homicide cases that resulted in 13 deaths, according to the Hubbard House and police. That’s our somber number of the week.
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13
Of the 10 Duval County cases last year, eight involved intimate partners, and two were considered “justified” because they were women acting in self-defense while being attacked by a male partner.
Any cases are too many, says Gail Patin, CEO of Jacksonville’s domestic violence service provider, Hubbard House.
“Until there are no deaths due to domestic violence, we are going to keep moving along and doing what we need to do to prevent those deaths,” Patin said at the sheriff’s office news conference. “The good news, the hope, is that there were fewer domestic deaths last year.”
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In each of the previous two years, 19 people died from domestic violence in Jacksonville.
Experiencing domestic violence? Access help 24/7 from Hubbard House. CALL: (904) 354 -3114. TEXT: (904) 210-3698. IN PERSON: Make an appointment or walk into the Hubbard House Outreach Center at 6629 Beach Blvd., Monday-Friday from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. All Hubbard House services are free and confidential.
