Shedding light on domestic violence

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This billboard is raising awareness about domestic violence.

A billboard on U.S. 19 has been causing controversy during the past month.

The message, "real men don't hit women and children", is part of the Largo Police Department's effort to bring more awareness to domestic violence.

The police chief has been receiving calls from men who said they are not the only abusers and the sign should be taken down. However, the chief said the sign is staying and it's a crime that leaves many scarred and even dead.

Frieda Widera of the Largo Police Department said domestic violence comes in all forms.

"Abuse by men, abuse by women," Widera said. "It addresses child abuse, it addresses elder abuse."

However, numbers released by the U.S. Department of Justice shows the majority of abusers are men.

In 2005, 73 percent of family violence victims were women, eight in 10 murderers who killed a family member were men. Women were about half of all intimate partners, but accounted for about 85 percent of the victims.

Jane was one of those victims. More than a year after separating from her husband, she's still afraid. She only wants to be identified by her first name.

"It's changed the way I live," Jane said. "It's changed how I view things, how I interact with people."

Thirteen years of marriage left Jane in a mental trauma.

"It seemed to be worse at night," Jane said. "Just a lot of emotional battering and I close the bedroom door and he'd force his way into the bedroom."

Last March was the turning point when her husband tried to kill herwith a knife to her chest. For a long time she was afraid to leave.

"If I walk away or if I take my kids and leave, this person's gonna track me down," Jane said. "He's gonna hurt me, he's gonna hurt my children."

Jane left with their four children, but still struggles everyday.

"I still have times where I feel like maybe I'm just not good enough," Jane said. "Maybe I got what I deserved when I was in that relationship. He calls and says, 'I'm gonna come back down to Florida and somebody's gonna find your body floating in the Gulf'. It's never over."

Jane said she has already moved twice, but somehow he manages to track her down. She thinks the police's effort will be effective because the message is clear. The billboards can be found in areas around Largo.

The police department is also creating a brochure to pass out in middle schools. Widera said that's the age when many of the signs of domestic violence begin to show.

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