South Carolina's 15th Annual Silent Witness Ceremony

Invitation to Silent Witness

SC Attorney General Alan Wilson announced today that the annual Silent Witness Domestic Violence ceremony would be held on Tuesday, October 2, 20110, at 11:00 a.m. on the south steps of the State House in Columbia. October is National Domestic Violence Awareness Month.

At the ceremony, the names of each 2011 fatal domestic violence victim will be released and announced.

For fifteen years, the SC Attorney General’s Office has sponsored the Silent Witness ceremony to honor the memory of those who lost their lives as a result of domestic violence in the previous year.

During the solemn ceremony, the Attorney General will call the name of each 2011 fatal domestic violence victim as family members, friends or volunteers carry a life-sized silhouette representing the victim to the State House steps, including an additional silhouette representing the potential unknown victims.

Also during the ceremony, a bell will be rung once for each victim. Domestic violence survivors, officials and victim advocates will make special remarks to highlight the problem of criminal domestic violence.

Last year’s ceremony remembered the forty-four (44) men and women from across the state who lost their lives in the year 2010 as the result of domestic violence.

The event is open to the public.