An annual report by Florida's Attorney General's Office found more domestic survivors are reporting to law enforcement but the majority remain in silence.
The Faces of Fatality report released in June found domestic violence homicides continue to occur at alarming numbers. Numbers released by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) reflected a 9.5 percent decrease in domestic violence murders in 2017 from the previous year. Domestic violence manslaughter deaths, however, increased by 28.6 percent during the same time period. A total of 180 domestic violence-related homicides in Florida in 2017, according to the report.
The report calls for more accountability after calls to law enforcement about prior incidents increased from 31 percent in 2017 to 52 percent by victims of fatal domestic violence in Florida.
"This increase in reporting highlights the importance of collaboration among community partners," the Faces of Fatality report said. "To hold perpetrators accountable and enhance safety for survivors and their children."
Family law attorney Ashley Myers of Jacksonville said domestic violence survivors are often reluctant to go to authorities about the abuse.
"It's complicated, it's a dynamic that's hard for someone who is not in it to understand," Myers said. "Often people are in a cyclone and cycle of domestic violence incidences that they find it hard to leave because of financial issues and not having any place else to go."
Myers said she assists clients with filing domestic violence injunctions, but the process is simple enough to go through without an attorney. There's no filing fee, and the clerk's office is under a duty to assist a victim with filing an injunction, Myers said. A temporary injunction stays in place 15 days or until a hearing is held with both parties, but advocates say the court filing should be only one of many steps.
A safety plan and support system for escape should accompany a petition of someone in fear of their life. Despite the option of filing an injunction, Myers said each person should think through their own situation, weighing the level of danger that may be associated with filing an injunction prematurely.
"Some feel they are more in danger if they file an injunction than if they quietly backpedal from the relationship. Everyone has to think it through," Myers said. "If you are in imminent danger and ... it's a choice between getting a domestic violence injunction or getting out of town, because you are truly in fear, I suggest you go."
Myers said a domestic violence injunction can be filed using the address where the violence occurred or from an address where the petitioner is temporarily living.
The Hubbard House offers safe shelter and can be reached on their 24-hour hotline at 904-354-3114.