Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
Jed Boal ReportingDomestic violence and abuse leave deep wounds and scars in our community, yet rarely do we openly discuss what each of us can do about it. Community leaders are pushing awareness of domestic violence this month, urging all of us to play a role.
It is domestic violence awareness month and a candlelight march started in West Valley this evening. It's a community problem that does not go away, but one State Representative insists we can move to a society free of abuse and free of violence.
Signs are everywhere this week telling us to take time to consider the toll of domestic violence, rape and child abuse. In Provo 550 STOP signs line the front of the library lawn. Each represents a protective order filed in Utah County this year.
On the campus of the University of Utah are more than 13-hundred red flags, each represents a woman served by the Rape Recovery Center. Inside, beyond the numbers, State Representative Scott Wyatt of Cache County says we must visualize a society without abuse and violence to make it happen.
State Rep. Scott Wyatt/(R) District 5: "I would rather talk about it's possible and to try to start visualizing in our minds what a society without abuse would look like than to run through a series of statistics of how much abuse there is."
The former Cache County prosecutor spent seven years putting abusers behind bars. He says we can all take three critical steps beyond the numerical benchmarks of reducing violence.
State Rep. Scott Wyatt/(R) District 5: "I'd rather we focus our minds not on the difficulties, but on the possibilities."
Three Steps to Reduce Abuse and Violence:
1) Don't abuse. Treat people with respect.
2) Take action to curb violence and abuse when we see it around us.
3) Demand action from our elected officials.
State Rep. Scott Wyatt, (R) District 5: "The most defining factor of the quality of civilization of a people, it's the respect with which they treat others."
The people gathered here tonight are urging that kind of respect throughout the community.
