More than 100 people gathered outside Columbus City Hall on Oct. 1 to kick off Domestic Violence Awareness Month and to honor both victims and survivors.
The annual gathering, which began in 2022, featured City Attorney Zach Klein, Franklin County Prosecutor Shayla Favor, the Columbus Office of Violence Prevention, representatives from other domestic violence awareness organizations, survivors of domestic violence, and Columbus police officials.
Several speakers from organizations that support domestic violence victims urged community members to remain vigilant for signs of abuse and to support survivors. That can include providing a safe place to stay and helping victims with children cover necessities such as utilities, groceries and rent as they
work to regain stability, said Ramona Reyes, vice president of family programs at Catholic Social Services, Guadalupe Center.
After the guest speakers, attendees observed a moment of silence for victims and survivors, followed by a ceremonial candle lighting. City Hall was also illuminated in purple, the color associated with domestic violence awareness.
Klein said that the event offered a "renewed sense of purpose going into 2027." After his speech, Klein told The Dispatch that continuing to prosecute domestic violence cases is one of the top priorities in the City Attorney's office. He said that the office would also continue to prioritize removing barriers for victims in the criminal legal system to receive justice.
Klein also urged community members to step up in helping victims and to look for signs of domestic violence. He noted that a significant number of defendants involved in domestic violence-related homicides often do not have a prior history of violence, making it difficult to intervene in domestic violence situations before it's too late.
In February, Columbus and Franklin County officials launched a task force and education campaign with the goal of connecting communities with more domestic violence resources while streamlining the criminal justice system for both victims and the perpetrators. The initiative came amid a rising proportion of domestic violence-related homicides in the city.
In 2025, around 40% of homicides were domestic violence-related,according to Columbus police data. A joint survey also found that around 58% of respondents said they would not call police if they witnessed domestic violence because they feared that the courts wouldn't do anything. Forty-eight percent said it was because they didn't trust the police, and 45% reported being afraid that the perpetrator would retaliate.
According to police data, Columbus has recorded 58 homicides as of Oct. 1. Of those, 17 were domestic or domestic violence-related, accounting for about 29% of the city’s homicides.
Reporter Shahid Meighan can be reached at smeighan@dispatch.com, at ShahidMeighan on X, and at shahidthereporter.dispatch.com on Bluesky.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Columbus city officials honor victims, survivors at domestic violence vigil
