Not only was the weekend stabbing death of a promising Florida AM University student and star women's basketball player a shock to the university and the community, but it also highlighted a type of domestic violence that occurs far more often than it is reported.
Shannon Washington, 20, who was expected to start this fall on the Rattlers' women's basketball team after a triumphant junior college career, died early Sunday after being stabbed repeatedly by Starquineshia Palmer, Tallahassee police reported. Police said Ms. Palmer, also 20, confessed to stabbing Ms. Washington in Ms. Washington's apartment after the two argued for most of the day. The women apparently had dated for about three years and were making plans to live together in Tallahassee.
As tragic as the death is, it is a striking reminder that domestic violence is just as prevalent among people in same-sex relationships as it is in heterosexual bonds. In Tallahassee, people who find themselves in such situations need to know that they can seek help and counseling at the Refuge House, a shelter and counseling service for victims of domestic violence in the Big Bend.
But too often, people involved in same-sex relationships find it a struggle to let such incidents surface, fearing negative reactions from the public.
Meg Baldwin, executive director of Refuge House, says that Refuge House has provided counseling to several people involved in abusive same-sex relationships through its hotline (681-2111 or 1-800-500-1119).
"(National) research suggest that intimate-partner violence between same-sex partners is the same almost as heterosexual partners, about 25 percent," Ms. Baldwin said.
One problem that those victims of domestic violence face is the stigma that is associated with being in a lesbian or gay relationship that turns violent. Too often, victims feel shunned by those who surround them, making it difficult for them to find support or the encouragement to seek help.
This reality often feeds in the hands of the abuser, who is more likely to use this to continue abuse in the relationship, knowing that the victim faces embarrassment in being outed and is finding less sympathy, being in a same-sex relationship.
But in this day and age, domestic violence of any type need not be tolerated. People in abusive same-sex relationships need to know that Refuge House is a vehicle in which help can be provided in the way of shelter, counseling and creating a safe plan to escape the abuse.
It's unfortunate that incidents such as the one this weekend have to occur before victims feel comfortable stepping forward and seeking help.
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