At Bethany House, we are usually optimistic. We provide shelter and advocacy for survivors. We provide space and time for survivors and children to heal. Every day we see our guests recovering from Intimate Partner Violence (IPV). We walk alongside people growing in confidence, rebuilding healthy families, and securing permanent housing.
Still, horribly, every year women in our community die at the hands of their abusers. How do we cope with despair when the worst has happened?
Our choice is to bear witness to these losses. We honor victims whose lives were taken. We keep their names alive through the Northwest Ohio Silent Witness Project. Individuals are remembered with life-size, free-standing silhouettes. Each Silent Witness carries a chest plate with a short biography about the victim and how they were killed. Every story is touching and shocking.
On October 7, 2025, Bethany House held its annual Unveiling Ceremony at the Main Library in downtown Toledo to remember 42 victims and volunteers who read their stories aloud. Those in attendance heard about women and girls who had lives – loved cats, were gardeners, were students, were good employees, who were mothers, who were sisters, who were friends. All were killed in acts of domestic violence. Listening to the Silent Witness stories, one after the other, brings home the shocking scope and impact of intimate partner violence.
In addition to the devastation of losing a family member and community member, IPV has large economic impacts. A recent study estimates that the financial impact in Ohio is more than a billion dollars per year. These costs include loss of life –– and loss of worker productivity, physical and mental health care, loss of property, court costs, incarceration costs, lifetime impacts to child welfare, and the costs associated with services workings to end IPV.
After the Unveiling Ceremony, Silent Witnesses were distributed among eight of Lucas County’s branch libraries where they were displayed through the month of October. These memorials are quietly effective. Seeing those stories in an ordinary place like a library reminds us that domestic violence can affect anyone. The Silent Witnesses are quiet advocates for more community and legislative action to protect victims of domestic violence and hold their perpetrators accountable.
When people are more aware of the seriousness of IPV, they support services to prevent violence and support victims. The NWO Silent Witness Project is one powerful way you can help build awareness. Businesses or organizations can request to host a Silent Witness Project display. To learn more contact Bethany House at silentwitnessproject@bethanyhousetoledo.org or call (419) 727-4948.