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.

Lisa DeGeeter, director of Systems and Policy for the Ohio Domestic Violence Network, said there were 16 kids younger than age 10 and six infants in the total number of deceased people.

"Most of them, quite literally, babes in arms that were shot while the mothers were holding them," DeGeeter said. "The youngest victim was actually a one-day-old baby. The mom was eight and a half months pregnant and was shot in the abdomen. She was delivered before the mom passed, but the baby died of her own gunshot injuries the next day."

DeGeeter also expressed concern over the number of gun related fatalities that occurred over the last year, up 5% to 91%.

The fatalities tracked between July 2021 and June 2022 were compiled from media reports and information from the Domestic Violence Network's member programs.

DeGeeter acknowledged on a positive note, no law enforcement officers were killed during a domestic-violence incident for the second year in a row.

"We also know that in the three cases where law enforcement was required, unfortunately, to take an offender's life in responding to a situation," DeGeeter said. "All three of those victims survived. So we very much appreciate the partnership we have with law enforcement to keep people safer."

When it comes to policy, DeGeeter noted her group is a strong proponent of anti-strangulation legislation known as Aisha's law. She said Ohio is the only state in the nation without a felony-level anti-strangulation statute as a stand-alone offense.

"Nonfatal instances of strangulation are indicative of a sevenfold increase in potential later lethal violence," DeGeeter said. "And so that's really something that we would like to see happen in the next General Assembly."

The measure, House Bill 3, was passed by the Ohio House. The overall number of Ohio fatalities is down from last year when 131 fatalities were recorded, but the latest count is still higher than pre-pandemic numbers, according to anti-domestic violence advocates.

Ohio's domestic violence shelters provided emergency housing to nearly 10,000 people last year, and advocates are calling for a funding boost.

Providers said they are unable to meet demand, especially for the nearly 73,000 residents seeking counseling, court advocacy and other non-shelter services.

Mary O'Doherty, executive director of the Ohio Domestic Violence Network, said the volume of calls and the severity of cases has worsened since the pandemic.

"They are seeing survivors with more severe injuries, survivors describing more lethal situations," O'Doherty observed. "I hear regularly that the calls to our crisis lines are more complicated, are scarier for the advocates who are receiving the calls."

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine has allocated $20 million for domestic violence services in his proposed budget, but the funding still needs approval from the state legislature. Dozens of advocates gather in Columbus today for the Ohio Domestic Violence Network's Advocacy Day to meet with lawmakers on the issue.

Last year in Ohio there were more than 80 domestic-violence related homicides, including the deaths of children.

Even with the funding increase, Ohio continues to spend less per capita for domestic violence services than its neighbors, including Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Kentucky, and Indiana. O'Doherty pointed out investments in services ultimately save taxpayer dollars.

"Those are costs associated with medical care, property damage, law enforcement, emergency response, child protective services, legal fees, and the loss of life of survivors, including end-of-life expenses," O'Doherty outlined.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, nationwide the lifetime economic cost associated with medical services, criminal justice, and other costs related to intimate partner violence totals more than $3 trillion.

Gov. Mike DeWine recently announced he's providing $30 million to boost rape crisis services statewide, after years of federal funding cuts.

Jennifer Seifert, executive director of the Ohio Survivor Advocacy Outreach Program, said the trauma associated with sexual violence demands a tailored response that crisis centers are staffed and trained to address.

"And that can be all the way from a civil protection order to perhaps filing a Title IX complaint, if they're a college student," she said, "or all the way to maybe mobilizing some housing resources or reporting to law enforcement, getting the evidence collection done at a medical facility."

Since the start of the pandemic, crisis centers have had to cut staff and reduce service areas, as centers saw a 55% jump in monthly hotline calls, along with a rise in survivors seeking emergency shelter, legal advocacy and mental-health services.

Emily Gemar, director of public policy at the Ohio Alliance to End Sexual Violence, explained that the services people need throughout their lifetime to recover from sexual violence, and that the response from law enforcement and prosecutors offices can be costly. She said for every act of sexual violence prevented, more than $122,000 in lifetime costs are averted.

"We know that by investing money into prevention, which was one of the primary reasons for the state funding for sexual assault services, that we are actually saving our state money and improving the quality of life for for all Ohioans," she said.

Rose Beltre, the alliance's executive director, said centers are grappling with how to expand coverage across the state, retain existing services and reach into new areas, and asked, "How can the centers maintain adequate staff to be able to provide services for survivors, holistic and comprehensive services?"

According to the National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Victimization Survey, nearly one in five women and one in 67 men have experienced some form of sexual violence in their lives.

Ohio community groups seeking ways to increase support for sexual assault survivors living with disabilities. A January 23rd training session hosted by the Ohio Alliance to End Sexual Violence will focus on how law enforcement, hospitals, and other institutions can provide equitable services.

Natasha Larson, director of training and member engagement with the Alliance explained it is common for perpetrators to be closely linked to their victims, and can often include family members or staff at a caregiving facility. She said people with disabilities are at higher risk for assault because their abuser can interfere with attempts to report it.

"They may tamper with things," Larson said, "like withholding any assistive technology that they have - mobility aids, communication devices - things that allow them to perform daily tasks."

A 2012 nationwide survey, the first of it's kind published by the Spectrum Institute, found more than one-third of respondents were victims of repeated sexual abuse. More information on the training is online at 'oaesv.org.'

Nicole Kass Colvin, manager of coordinated community responses with the Alliance, added society often views those with disabilities as asexual, and points out that people born with disabilities are less likely to be taught the proper names of body parts, or the definitions of sexual assault and consent.

"This leads to a lack of comprehensive sex education and consent education, which increases risk," she said.

Kass Colvin said Ohioans can help protect their loved ones with disabilities by advocating for increased accessibility in their communities and workplaces.

"When we are able to know ahead of time how to access or activate a trauma-informed qualified interpreter, or services that have accessible spaces, then we're better able to respond to those situations," she said.

Children with disabilities are nearly three times more likely to experience sexual violence, according to the World Health Organization.