Between 2016 and 2026, 93 people died in domestic violence-related incidents in Alameda County, and 33 of them were younger than 30, according to figures District Attorney Ursula Jones Dickson shared at a remembrance ceremony Friday, The Oaklandside reports.
More than 100 community members, advocates and elected officials, many wearing purple for Domestic Violence Awareness Month, gathered outside the county administration building in Oakland on Oct. 23 for the 24th annual Domestic Violence Day of Remembrance. The names of 275 people known to have died from domestic violence in the county over the past three decades were read aloud.
"Every name belongs to someone who was deeply loved," Jones Dickson said.
By the numbers
- 93 domestic violence-related deaths in Alameda County from 2016 to 2026, per the DA.
- 33 of those victims were under 30.
- 3,422 domestic violence cases logged by Oakland police so far this year, according to department data cited by The Oaklandside.
- 70+ women shot and killed by an intimate partner each month nationwide, according to Everytown Research & Policy.
The ceremony
Life-size cardboard silhouettes stood throughout the plaza, each telling the story of a county resident killed in a domestic violence incident, written from the victim's point of view. The DA's office says the annual event, held with the Alameda County Family Justice Center, includes survivor testimony, the reading of names, the sounding of bells and an offering of roses.
Jones Dickson, who spent 11 years as a dependency court judge, said leaving an abusive home is especially hard for people without money or housing. "It literally takes a village to save somebody from this situation," she said.
Help: the National Domestic Violence Hotline is available 24/7 at 1-800-799-7233.