by Audrey Anderson
Hometown Weekly Reporter
Needham High School’s Take Back the Night club held their annual domestic and sexual violence awareness program on Thursday, February 8, at the Needham Town Hall. The club shared local stories of violence against women to help the community recognize the patterns of violent relationships and learn how victims can get help.
State Representative Denise Garlick opened the program by addressing violence against women in Massachusetts and lending her support to the cause. Then students from the Take Back the Night club, wearing club t-shirts, stood in a line before the stage. Each student read a Silent Witness statement about a victim of violence who lost her life in the past year. The stories were proclaimed reverently, clearly, and in detail, precisely describing what happened to the victims.
Next, Needham High School’s a cappella group, Fermata Nowhere, stepped on stage to soothe the audience with their beautiful harmonies.
A representative from the Boston Area Rape Crisis Center (BARCC) and another from REACH Beyond Domestic Violence then walked on the stage along with a victim from each group. The BARCC representative prepared the audience for hearing the victims’ difficult stories in person. She asked the audience members to center themselves, asking “Are you present?” and then “How do you know you are present?” Then she led the audience in taking “belly breaths” to prepare them for the details to come. She told everyone to “take care of themselves” and leave, if necessary, when the victims told their stories. To keep the victims safe, the audience was cautioned not to take photographs or share details of the women’s stories. As the crowd was quiet and attentive, the women shared their stories in the hope of helping others to escape violent situations.
Both victims said that they continued to suffer from hyper-vigilance and triggers from the abuse they endured. Their whole families were affected by it. BARCC and REACH helped the women with individual and group counseling and safety planning.
After the victims spoke, Needham Police Lieutenant Belinda Carroll addressed domestic and sexual violence in the town of Needham. She has been a member of the Needham Domestic Violence committee for 22 years. Carroll said that domestic violence is “a public health epidemic that is here to stay.” All economic and social strata in society are affected. Generally, a victim will endure seven violent incidents before escaping. In 2022, there were 76 calls in Needham. In 2023, there were 89 calls. This was an increase of 17%. Previously, an officer would respond to a call, remove the offender and give a list of resources to the victim. This approach didn’t provide enough help for the victims. Now, Needham has a Community Outreach Officer who works with victims on an ongoing basis.
