TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — According to the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, one in three women and one in four men have experienced some form of physical violence by their partner.
“Why won’t they leave?”
HelenMarie McCracken and Stephanie Harris said this is a common misconception and question that people ask when it comes to abusive relationships.
“Why don't you just leave, you know, just up and go,” said McCracken, the founder and CEO of HM3 Advocate.
McCracken and Harris know firsthand, it’s not that simple.
“I was in it for seven years and it was all verbal, it was psychological, mental, financial, and it ended up in sexual assault while I was unconscious,” said Harris, a domestic violence survivor working for HM3 Advocate.
“The most dangerous time for a victim-survivor is when they are going to leave the relationship,” McCracken said.
McCracken created HM3 Advocate, standing for ‘healing matters.’ Her hope is to empower those who have been in abusive relationships to get their voice back.
“We've hit rock bottom and we know what it feels like to be there, and then we've also persevered. We're here on this side too and we want to bring all the women with us, you know, because it feels really good to be here,” said McCracken.
Tucson’s Domestic Violence Court Judge said she hasn’t seen an increase in caseload, but she has seen more violent cases.
“We are seeing a lot of strangulation cases and a lot of using weapons guns, knives,” said Judge Wendy Million.
HM3 Advocate will host an ‘In Her Shoes’ workshop on March 14—an interactive event for people to understand what victims-survivors go through.
“The cards that you get are actual survivors that their stories. So, you will be walking the day in the life of what that survivor actually experienced when she went forward to get help,” said Harris.
"The workshop is really to put people 'in her shoes' and to really see their point of view of someone who might be going through abuse and maybe also to see the signs," said Niomi Galindo, the sponsor of the 'In Her Shoes' event in Tucson.
McCracken and Harris said they hope everyone walks away from the workshop with a better understanding and support from the community.
“I’d just like to encourage everybody to become more of an upstander instead of a bystander,” said Harris.
HM3 Advocate will attend a meet-and-greet on Wednesday to answer any questions.
Domestic Violence Resources:
- 1-800-799-SAFE National Domestic Violence Hotline
- List of Tucson Resources
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Faith Abercrombie is a reporter for KGUN 9. Before coming to KGUN, Faith worked as a videographer for the Phoenix Children's Hospital Foundation and as a reporter and producer on the youth suicide documentary, "Life is..." on Arizona PBS.
Share your story ideas with Faith by emailing faith.abercrombie@kgun9.com or by connecting on Facebook, or Twitter.
