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COMMEMORATING VICTIMS OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE

Each October, during Domestic Violence Awareness Month (DVAM),
DVSN honors all Massachusetts residents whose lives were lost
to domestic violence over the past 12 months.

Hear their stories as we light a candle in memory of each individual.

Since 2013, Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan has had the privilege of leading the Office in which she has spent her entire professional career. Her strategic vision is simple: every day, the Middlesex District Attorney’s Office strives to be the most dedicated, the most effective, the most transparent and the most innovative public prosecutor’s office in the United States. District Attorney Ryan is Massachusetts’ only female District Attorney, representing the state’s largest county which is comprised of 54 towns and cities and 26 colleges and universities spread across urban, suburban and rural areas. Middlesex County is home to over one quarter of the state’s population.

During District Attorney Ryan’s tenure, the Office has created dozens of best-in-class crime prevention programs. The Office has expanded the use of restorative justice practices and drastically expanded the Office’s diversionary offerings. District Attorney Ryan has served as a vocal and persuasive voice calling for smart, common-sense reforms to the criminal legal system. She has been a leader in domestic violence prevention and prosecution.  She has conducted trainings for prosecutors, police officers and service providers to help them confront the unique challenges posed by domestic violence. She brought to Middlesex County the “Cut it Out” a program, designed to educate salon professionals and personal care providers to recognize signs of domestic abuse in their clients. She created the Safe Babies/Safe Kids Task Force and is a frequent presenter around the county on Safety Programs.

Conscious of the distrust and fear of police and government officials which some immigrants may have, Marian has helped forge unique partnerships to empower them. The District Attorney’s Office’s RIGHTs (Reaching Immigrants, Gaining Trust) Project, partners with ESL tutors to train them to raise awareness with their students around issues of domestic abuse, sexual violence, and human trafficking and to connect them with the proper resources.

District Attorney Ryan grew up in Somerville and is a summa cum laude graduate of Emmanuel College and a cum laude graduate of Boston College Law School. Her own life experience has given her a deep and broad understanding of law enforcement, victimization, and the judicial system. In 1980, Marian was a young Assistant District Attorney, just starting her career as a prosecutor, when she was the victim of a vicious assault and a witness to the murder of her then-boyfriend. Through this experience, she learned first-hand about the impact and significance of violent crime and of criminal prosecution. Marian gained insight into the importance of an exhaustive and unassailable investigation, supportive victim advocacy, a fair trial, and a just and incontrovertible verdict. The experience strengthened her resolve as she developed into a strong, empathetic and judicious prosecutor.

We hope DVSN’s Candlelight Vigil helps to build awareness as we honor the lives brutally lost to domestic violence in Massachusetts in the last 12 months.

Their stories show how the domestic terror they faced was sinister, pervasive, and unrelenting.  Each story is complex. Each life lost is tragic and preventable.  Murder and suicide are frequently the manner in which these individuals were killed.  Often it happens when the victim decides to leave, tries to leave, or has left – when the abusive partner is losing control and escalates to lethal means.

While the stories are dark and despairing, we also want to honor the ways in which these individuals showed strength and perseverance in trying to change their lives, in struggling to protect loved ones, in trying to do everything right for their children and others they loved.  Even though they lost those battles, with great determination, they took the risk…they tried…they made the effort.  Let’s not let their tragic outcomes obscure the fact that many of these individuals were truly heroic in their struggle to be free.

The stories are read by representatives from our advocates, our board, and our police and community partners – a wide array of colleagues who stand with us to witness and honor these lives lost.