MONROE, La. (KNOE 8 News) - According to the Family Justice Center of Ouachita Parish's recent numbers, the state's domestic and dating violence dwarfs the rest of the country's.
The 15 parishes of Northeast Louisiana alone were stained with nearly 2,500 cases of domestic and dating violence in 2011.
That triples the national average.
This year isn't even over yet and two Ouachita Parish women have already died at the hands of this violence.
This stain remains constant on the Bayou State.
"Continuously ranked in the top five for amount of homicides committed on a female by a male perpetrator," Family Justice Center Director, Valerie Bowman, said. "In the last 10 years, they've always ranked in the top five."
The stats can be said again and again but no amount of numbers can hide a victim's pain.
One survivor of abuse came forward to KNOE 8 News.
While she wanted to be anonymous at first, she gained the courage to show her face.
"I went on a blind date and met this guy that I thought was really great," Natalie Raymond said. "At first, everything seemed really good. A year after all this is when he became physically abusive."
His actions would send Raymond to the emergency room.
"Punching me. Slapping me," she said. "Pinning me against the wall. I had to get stitches."
Raymond said the smallest action would set him off.
"One time it was because I put onions in the spaghetti," she said. "One time it was because I made him a sandwich and he wanted something else to eat."
But Raymond did get away.
That was six years ago.
Now, after counseling and going back to school at ULM, she works with the Family Justice Center as a social worker, helping other women to do what ended up saving her: breaking their silence.
"You deserve better than being abused," Raymond said.
Bowman said those nearly 2,500 cases are only the ones reported to police.
With the cases that stay silent, that number could be more than doubled.
If you are a victim of abuse, Bowman urges you to call this hotline: 1-888-411-1333.
To call the center itself, you can reach it at (318) 323-1543.
