GREENSBORO, N.C. — October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month. A time to recognize those who may be experiencing abuse and hold abusers accountable.
News 2 spoke with local officials about the number of cases they are seeing in the Triad and the resources that are available.
Over 10,000 domestic violence cases have been reported in Greensboro, Winston-Salem, and High Point combined.
Dale Nix, the supervisor of the Greensboro Police Family Victims Unit says, there are so many other cases that go unreported every single day.
Nix defines domestic violence as anything that affects the family directly, whether it's child abuse or abuse from an intimate partner.
"All domestic violence, especially going forward to the physical abuse always starts off with some kind of emotional or psychological abuse to begin with. Talking down to the partner, making excuses for why they're not doing something they should be doing," said Nix.
Greensboro police report nearly 2,700 domestic violence cases so far this year.
There are over 3,000 in High Point and over 4,000, in Winston-Salem.
"You'll see that a victim will start to withdraw from family and friends. The offender in those relationships wants to isolate that victim to make sure that they don't have a support structure in place," said Nix.
Nix wants victims to know that there are resources available through the Triads Family Justice Centers.
They help people get access to things like crisis counseling, support groups and even legal services.
"It takes a lot of courage to step out and share with someone about what's happening in your home. Far too often it's 'what's happened in the home, stays in the home,' so we really want to create that pathway and opportunity for survivors to share with us about what's going on," said Guilford County Family Justice Center Director Catherine Johnson.
Johnson says strangulation is the most dangerous form of physical abuse.
If you or someone you know may be experiencing domestic violence you can call for help.
The National Domestic Violence Hotline is 1-800-799-SAFE. It's a 24/7 service.