Jayvon Howard News Today : Breaking News, Live Updates & Top Stories | Vimarsana

Every spring, Ohio University students, faculty and staff and Athens community members walk the bricks in solidarity of sexual and domestic violence survivors.

October is winding down, but groups working to prevent domestic violence still are hoping the public hears their message during Domestic Violence Awareness Month. A South Dakota group describes it as a prevalent issue. Nearly 28% of South Dakota women and 23% of men around the state experience intimate-partner physical violence. ...

A new report shows there were 112 domestic violence-related deaths in Ohio in a recent 12-month period, including 22 youth, the highest number in the past seven years. Officials noted every domestic violence death is a tragedy, but advocates said data this year on youth fatalities is truly shocking. The Ohio Domestic Violence Network report on domestic violence-related fatalities reveals the highest number of youth fatalities since the count began seven years ago. ...

October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month, and advocates in Iowa are especially alarmed about what comes up in a few weeks: a proposed gun rights amendment on the November ballot. It is a question of whether "strict scrutiny" language should be added to Iowa's constitution in establishing the right to keep and bear arms. Opponents say it would make it easier to overturn common-sense gun laws, including one prohibiting someone convicted of a misdemeanor domestic violence offense, or who is subject to a protective order, from having a firearm. ...

An initiative at one Ohio nonprofit is taking on the topic of men and sexual violence. There is a false notion men are not experiencing sexual violence or are only perpetrators of it, but a 2015 study indicated nearly one quarter of men experience sexual violence in their lifetime. At the Ohio Alliance to End Sexual Violence, the "Engaging Men" initiative is trying to bring men into the conversation. ...