March spurs campaign against domestic violence

SAN LUIS, Ariz. — In 2008, 35 cases of domestic violence were reported to police here. The following year, that number jumped to 74.

It dropped in 2010 to 61 cases and again in 2011 to 49. Through October there have been 38 cases reported in the city.

Neither the police nor the South County Coalition Against Domestic Violence take comfort in those statistics, even if they might suggested a downward trend in the incidence of violence in the home.

Those are only the reported numbers. Police and the coalition fear there are more victims they don't know about.

The coalition is staging a public march and information fair in San Luis on Thursday that it hopes will present domestic violence as a crime with physical and emotional consequences not only for women but all family members.

And ultimately the coalition hopes the event serves as reminder that no one can afford to ignore violence, regardless of whether it occurs in one's home, the next door neighbor's home, or in the home down the street or across town.

The march is part of a budding campaign of the coalition, formed earlier this year when police, the San Luis-based nonprofit Campesinos Sin Fronteras and other community group came together in a common front against the crime of violence.

The march, open to public participation, will start off at 5 p.m. on 4th Avenue in San Luis and proceed west on Juan Sanchez Boulevard, then turn north on Union Avenue. It will end at San Luis City Hall, where police and other groups will put on an information fair where the public can get information or seek guidance relating to domestic violence prevention.