Since her sister's tragic death on June 12, 1994, Denise Brown has devoted her professional life to fighting domestic violence in California and across the U.S. The savage murder of Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ronald Goldman at Nicole's suburban Los Angeles home 15 years ago, the highly publicized murder trial of Nicole's husband, former football star and actor O.J. Simpson, and his subsequent acquittal led Brown to organize a foundation dedicated to ending domestic violence that bears her sister's name, the Nicole Brown Foundation.
Today, Brown regularly leaves the foundation's California headquarters to cross the country on behalf of her mission to halt domestic violence. On the eve of a recent address to the nonprofit Columbus (OH) Coalition Against Family Violence, Brown told Columbus Dispatch reporter Jeffry Sheban that the family's resolve to fight domestic violence stemmed from accounts of physical abuse the family found in her sister's diaries after Nicole's murder. "... we found her notes and diaries describing physical attacks," she told Sheban in a telephone interview published April 28, 2009. "My mother and I went to a women's shelter here in Laguna Beach and asked all the 'why' questions: Why didn't we know, and why didn't she tell us?"
The problem is typical in domestic abuse cases, law enforcement authorities say. Intimidation, fear and embarrassment often prevent domestic abuse victims from seeking help, even from their own families. Brown said she and her family were unaware of the cycle of violence that permeated her sister's life. "There are three things that I've learned from victims," she told the Dispatch, "hope, shame and fear -- hope that it will get better; shame of not wanting others to know; and fear in not knowing what to do, especially if there are children involved." Brown said four women die from domestic violence every day.
Problems caused by economic stress have increased incidents of domestic violence across the U.S., Brown told the Dispatch. "Right now, because of our economic times, we're seeing that domestic violence is increasing because people are losing their jobs and homes, and can't pay their bills. Violence escalates because it's somebody's fault. Suicide rates have increased as well." Brown encourages all victims of domestic violence to speak up and seek help. "I don't want a tragedy like outs to happen to another family," she said.
Friday: What happens to domestic violence abusers in California?
[...] star and actor O.J. Simpson, Denise Brown has devoted her career to fighting domestic violence (see our April 29 post). As in the case of her sister, Brown says that domestic violence usually happens behind closed [...]