29 women, 7 men lost to domestic violence honored at Silent Witness Ceremony

COLUMBIA, SC (WOLO) — The National Domestic Violence Hotline reported answering over 440,000 calls, texts, and chats in 2022.

To honor lives lost to domestic violence here in South Carolina, the attorney general’s office held the 26th Annual Silent Witness Ceremony.

Family and friends joined together at the SC State House to honor their loved ones taken from them as a result of domestic violence over the past year.

Red and blue silhouettes representing each life lost were brought onto the steps, including a purple cutout to represent potential unknown victims.

According to SC Attorney General Alan Wilson, 29 women and seven men across the state were killed by their partners.

Michael Winchester lost his 22-year-old daughter Clarrissa and her unborn child.

“November 9th, 2022 my daughter was beaten to death by her boyfriend. She was 7-months pregnant with my 1st grandchild. During the tragedy, he was born, not sure if he was born still born or what. We didn’t get a chance to remember him during the ceremony, but he is remembered as well,” says Winchester.

He describes his daughter as full of heart.

“What I miss about her is really just the personality and road trips we got to spend together, family adventures, how she brought everybody together and love and joy to our family,” Winchester says.

Members of the Drayton family say they lost their brother, Kennedy, to domestic violence. They want to reiterate that men are also the victims of domestic violence — and if you see something, say something.

“I think as a society we don’t talk about it, you know, especially if a man is being abused, they don’t want to bring that up. You know it’s like a macho man thing, you know you can’t admit that you’re the one who’s a victim of domestic violence. So that’s the most important thing we want to get out there, and just to say that our brother was an amazing person, a very talented musician, and we are fighting for justice for him every single day,” says Kennedy’s sister, Alisia Drayton.

Alisia and her sister Ciarra say Kennedy carried his guitar with him everywhere he went.

“His music, his loving personality, he was caring for everyone. Everything about him is what we miss,” says Ciarra Drayton.

If you or someone you love is in an abusive relationship, the National Domestic Violence Hotline number is 1-800-799-7233.

Local resources are available through the Department of Social Services by clicking here.