Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner, Houston Mayor Pro Tem Ellen Cohen, Aid to Victims of Domestic Abuse (AVDA), Houston Crime Victims Assistance Office, Harris County Sheriff’s Office and Clear Channel Outdoor Americas have joined forces to launch a public awareness campaign for National Victims’ Rights Week, April 10-16, featuring testimonials from local domestic crime victims.
The theme of the campaign- Serving Victims. Building Trust. Restoring Hope. – is featured in the design of each billboard design. The art design services were donated by Savage Brands. These messages emphasize the importance of providing needed services to crime victims. The campaign’s primary method of messaging to the public comes via a donation of advertising space on 15 Clear Channel Outdoor neighborhood billboards. These billboard messages will create more than 2.2 million market impressions during the month of April.
Harris County has the highest number of domestic violence fatalities in the state – 23 women killed by their intimate partners in 2014. In 2014, the Houston Police Department tallied some 23,512 reported incidents of domestic violence. In 2015, AVDA served over 3,500 adult and child survivors of domestic abuse. AVDA opened 2,091 legal cases on behalf of domestic violence survivors. AVDA provided rehabilitative counseling to 1,013 abusers.
The Office for Victims of Crime (OVC) leads communities throughout the nation in the annual observance of National Crime Victims’ Rights Week each April by promoting and honoring crime victims. AVDA and Clear Channel Outdoor have partnered to present these messages in English and Spanish to offer help to those who are being abused and using the national observance to gain attention.