The Woodward News

Local News

October 28, 2009

Silent Witness March being held

Last July, 23-year-old Robbie Whitebird and 43-year-old Marvin Williams died while trying to serve a domestic abuse warrant in Seminole.

“They were on a call,” said Janet Fitz, volunteer coordinator for Northwest Domestic Services in Woodward.

“A woman said her son was back in her house abusing her,” Fitz said. “She called the police department out, and the first two deputies who arrived were shot to death.”

“Domestic violence also affects innocent people who come to help the victim, not just families,” Fitz said.

Today at 5:30 p.m., a “Silent Witness March” will be held, starting at the Woodward County Courthouse and ending at Centennial Park.

All together, 39 silhouettes will be carried in honor of the number of people, including unborn children, who died as a result of domestic violence in Oklahoma in 2009, Fitz said.

The march has been conducted for the last five years, she said.

“I don’t know what started it here, but it is sponsored through the Oklahoma Coalition Against Domestic Violence and Assault,” she said. “They help set up shelters and do the lobbying for better laws against abusers . . . and they bring the silent witnesses out and begin a process where we can make a statement.”

The coalition also presents the silhouettes at the state legislature when lobbying for better laws against abusers, she said.

“We feel like if we have something visual for people to see, we can show this was somebody’s sister or daughter and that they lost their lives,” she said. “They can’t speak out any more but we can.”

At 4 p.m., all 39 silhouettes will be on display at the courthouse. Fitz said 70 to 90 people have participated in the march in the past.

“I would like to see this year that we have over 100 people walk to make a statement that people of Woodward and the surrounding area are speaking up about domestic violence,” she said.

After the march concludes, a woman helped by Domestic Crisis Services in Woodward will tell her story, Fitz said.

To participate in the “Silent Witness March,” Fitz may be reached at (580) 256-1215.

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