Palmetto Report

(Rock Hill, S.C.) -- October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month and South Carolina is now ranked the fifth deadliest state in the nation for women who are killed by men. According to the Washington, D.C. based Violence Policy Center, there were 52 women killed by men in the state in 2017, which was a rate of 2.01 women per 100,000 thousand men, based on an analysis of homicide data. South Carolina has been in the top ten for women murdered by men for the past 20 years. Myesha Belcher, volunteer coordinator for Safe Passage in Rock Hill, was a guest on the Palmetto Report to discuss the issue. “The causes for domestic violence are power and control; that’s the two main things that people want when they are abusers,” said Belcher. Safe passage offers support to victims of domestic violence, sexual assault and child abuse in York, Chester, Lancaster and Union Counties.