By Joseph A. Curtatone

(The opinions and views expressed in the commentaries of The Somerville Times belong solely to the authors of those commentaries and do not reflect the views or opinions of The Somerville Times, its staff or publishers)

Fifteen people were victims of domestic violence homicide last year in Massachusetts, and including perpetrators, there were 22 domestic violence deaths last year in our state. So far this year, there have been seven domestic violence homicide victims and 14 deaths in total. Last week, we once again walked through Union Square for our Annual Candlelight Vigil in honor of Domestic Violence Awareness Month. We walked to remember those we have lost to this continuing epidemic, and we walked to stand up together, as a community, and let victims and witnesses alike know—you are not alone. I am glad that as a community we stand up and speak out on domestic violence, but if the events of the past year have taught us anything, it’s that we have a long way to go, and a lot to learn.

This year, it seems as if more people are paying attention to domestic violence than ever before. The outrage over the NFL’s handling of Ray Rice knocking his now-wife unconscious has cast a national spotlight on domestic violence and our response to it. Locally, the murder of Jennifer Martel by Jared Remy and the resulting timeline laid out in the Boston Globe has cast another spotlight on a judicial system where, too often, leniency is the rule when it comes to alleged abusers.

We have been rightly horrified by these events, although in both cases we were horrified too late—we had to see the video of Rice punching his fiancé, as if the video of him dragging her unconscious from the elevator was not enough. Only after Jennifer Martel was dead did we express our shock that Remy’s history of violence against women never led to any consequences in a court of law.

Despite our horror, we are unfortunately seeing the same, infuriating story play out. In the case of Rice, some are blaming the victim, insinuating that somehow she deserved to be knocked unconscious, and asking, why didn’t she just leave? But the victim is never to blame and escape is rarely that simple. With the spotlight now on domestic violence, we have an opportunity to educate ourselves and erase the misconceptions that lead some to blame the victim and fail to understand how abusive relationships become a cycle.

Writer Beverly Gooden took this opportunity by starting a hashtag on Twitter, “Why I Stayed” (#WhyIStayed). Within a day, tens of thousands of domestic violence victims had shared their own intensely personal stories. These perspectives help educate those who don’t understand the cycle of domestic violence. And they tell other victims: You are not alone. Soon after, another hashtag began circulating on Twitter: “Why I Left” (#WhyILeft). These stories provide inspiration and hope to those still caught in that cycle of violence.

But we need more than inspiration and hope. We need to provide the support that will allow every victim to have their own “Why I Left” story. Somerville is fortunate to have groups like RESPOND that provide that needed support.

We need to continue to educate about domestic violence and advocate for more support, because too many victims still don’t get the services they need. On September 17 last year alone, 343 domestic violence victims that day could not get the services they needed, and almost two-thirds of those unmet requests were for housing, according to the National Network to End Domestic Violence’s annual count. That’s 334 people who could not get the support they needed in one day to keep themselves out of danger. They couldn’t get help because of lack of staff or reduced funding, either from public or private sources. Our own Women’s Commission, Jane Doe Inc. and other organizations should be thanked for their work around education and for their continued advocacy to expand, not contract, services available for domestic violence victims.

We need a judicial system where leniency is not the rule. We should look to domestic violence courts across the country as models of reform. The Justice Department has started a mentor court initiative, through which successful domestic violence courts from across the country can share the strategies that have helped them keep victims safe and hold offenders accountable, acting quickly and effectively. Nationwide, we now have more than 200 domestic violence courts, but that is sadly not enough to address this epidemic. Whether through specialized domestic violence courts or by incorporating those strategies into our existing system, our judicial system must improve.

It is sad that we need events like those in the news this past year for us to pay more attention to this ongoing epidemic. But the spotlight is on. Perhaps now, with enough people paying attention to not only domestic violence itself, but how we respond to it as a society, we can finally turn the corner and together end this epidemic.