Deerfield Committed To Eliminating Domestic Violence 'Scourge'

DEERFIELD, IL — Nearly one in four women, and one in seven men, have suffered from domestic violence by an intimate partner. Domestic violence homicides are up 64 percent since the beginning of the pandemic in Illinois, according to a local law firm, while orders of protection are up more than 55 percent.

Since 1987, October has been Domestic Violence Awareness Month in the United States. At a Deerfield Village Board meeting last week, Mayor Dan Shapiro read a proclamation declaring the month as such in Deerfield and stated the Village is "committed to eliminating this scourge and supporting survivors' healing."

"I ask we work harder to see each other. We are all carrying something that perhaps rises to the level of trauma," said Charlotte Coats, a senior staff attorney with the Highland Park-based North Suburban Legal Aid Clinic, following the proclamation.

Coats works as part of the domestic violence law division at the NSLAC. She said the practice provides free legal representation in the areas of domestic violence, immigration and housing. Coats praised the partnership her firm has with the Village of Deerfield to provide services to survivors of domestic violence.

"More and more of us have survived a mass shooting or other threat against our safety, or the safety of our children," Coats said. "All of us are living with personal stress and people you know even if they have not told you are right now surviving domestic violence. The incident rates are much too high to assume that you don't know a survivor."

As part of the proclamation, the Village stated it is joining others across Illinois and the nation in supporting victims of domestic violence, while "sending a loud and clear message to abusers that domestic violence is not tolerated in the Village of Deerfield."