This new visibility also supports our mission to continually raise public awareness about domestic violence. In fact, shelters across the country have begun to publicize their locations to great success, paving the way for The Julian Center to follow suit. In truth, although the location of our current Shelter is confidential, it has resided in the same building for 17 years. Anyone who really wants to find it can do so. Anonymity allows domestic violence and its victims to lurk in the shadows - out of sight, out of mind.
Domestic violence is an equal-opportunity offender.
No person, regardless of ethnicity, social class, educational background, or economic status, is automatically immune from its terror and heartbreak. A more visible Shelter helps the public understand that, in today's society, an intimate relationship can be the most dangerous place for a woman. In the past several years, approximately 30 percent of Marion County homicides were domestic-violence related. In 1998, the number of women killed in domestic-violence related deaths doubled. A larger, more visible Shelter permits advertising and encourages women in potentially lethal situations to seek refuge.