By Clark Judge
(September 23, 2026) — A recent Connecticut study revealed that while the state’s overall murder rate declined in 2025, the number of domestic violence homicides did not. Instead, they remained stable, meaning that a larger proportion of the total was related to domestic and/or family violence. Maybe that doesn’t alarm you, but it does the Killingworth Women’s Organization (KWO) … and they’ve decided to do something about it.
This is that something. With the support of Killingworth First Selectman Eric Couture, who declared October as Domestic Awareness Month (photo above), the KWO is launching an aggressive information campaign to underscore the impact of domestic violence, its effect on individuals and families and the importance of seeking help for those most at risk.
It’s called “Break the Silence,” and it starts here. According to Claire Walsh, chairperson of the KWO’s Domestic and Sexual Violence Awareness and Prevention Committee (DSVAP), you’ll hear about it via social media, publications, posters and yard signs posted on major roads. You’ll also find a table inside Deer Lake’s Clifton Hall for the annual Town Picnic on Saturday, October 3, 2026 with members of the Crisis Hotline available to answer questions. A year ago, an estimated 100 persons stopped by – often accompanied by their children.
“We’ve been doing this for close to a decade,” said Walsh, who encourages residents to wear purple ribbons or attach them to mailboxes to demonstrate support. “But each year we keep coming back because it’s a recurring problem, and it’s not being resolved. The KWO is doing this because we continue to be alarmed by the lack of progress addressing this issue.”
It should be. When the Connecticut Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection (DESPP) conducted its 2025 analysis, it discovered a disturbing shift in data – namely, that domestic violence was resistant to long-term trends in heinous crimes. Though its numbers remained “stable” with past findings, its data revealed that nearly 31 percent of all homicides were related to domestic violence.
But that’s not all. Its report also found that …
- Most offenders (71.1 percent) were male and most victims (67.5 percent) female.
- Repeat offenders (1 in 5) accounted for a disproportionate amount of all cases.
- Dating violence increased by 55 percent over the past decade.
“We intend to learn from this report and take action,” vowed DESPP’s Commissioner, Ronnell A. Higgins. “It tells us that we need to engage, collaborate and look for new solutions with our partners in the community.”
And that’s where the KWO and Walsh come in. Granted, the group has addressed the issue in past Octobers, but often with little impact. When they held educational seminars, typically few – if any – outside the KWO attended. When they put up posters, the response was minimal. When speakers were brought forward, the public didn’t follow. In short, the KWO realized that — as Higgins suggested — “new solutions” were needed.
So it turned to Walsh. And why not? She’s a clinical worker and nurse with hands-on experience, working in hospital emergency rooms with victims of domestic violence. Furthermore, she grew up in a family with an alcoholic father and a sister victimized by an emotionally abusive husband. So, as she put it, “I lived with it.” Most importantly, she’s so committed to this Fall’s media blitz that when introduced to a stranger recently, she referred to herself as “a weary activist.”
“We’re bringing the information to the public,” Walsh said of a change in tactics, “because they’re not coming to us. When homicides in Connecticut continue to go down but domestic homicides remain stable, that tells you something – and it’s a need for education. Silence hurts, and women know the silence hurts.”
Sadly, the KWO knows all too well. When Allard chaired the DSVAP ten years ago, she said the committee took a secret poll of its ten members and realized that all – including Allard – either knew or were victims of domestic abuse, including two directly involved. Ironically, that was one year after a much-publicized murder-suicide in Killingworth, one of two within the town the past eighteen years.
“Yet people have the idea,” said Walsh, “that, ‘Well, these things don’t happen in our bedroom community.’ But that’s fallacious. Because they do.”
The State Police confirm it. According to its records, it answered seven domestic violence calls within Killingworth the past two years – four from late September, 2024-2025, and three from late September 2025-2026. Maybe that figure seems low to you, but it shouldn’t. Silence is associated with domestic violence.
“When people ask, ‘Is this a problem here?’ “ said Walsh. “My response is that it’s a major social problem in our country. It hasn’t been identified in a lot of communities because women don’t come forward. They keep silent about it. They live in terror.
“But if you live with domestic violence, you live on eggshells every single minute of your life … and, at some point, there’s going to be a breaking point. This is all about awareness. We want to encourage women to break the silence to break the cycle of domestic violence … and the cycle of violence for children who are profoundly affected by the abuse.”
For help and healing, confidential support is available through a 24-Hour Hotline at 1-888-999-5545 (English) and 1-888-568-8332 (Spanish).
Photos by Clark Judge
