CONVERSATIONS TO CONFRONT VIOLENCE
Responding to a drastic uptick in domestic violence in Oklahoma during and following the COVID pandemic, Domestic Violence Intervention Services, Inc. (DVIS) launched a new series called DVIS Community Talks: Conversations to Confront Violence.
According to the Oklahoma Domestic Violence Fatality Review Board, Oklahoma saw a 44% increase in domestic violence-related deaths in 2020. Reports of domestic abuse to Oklahoma law enforcement were at a 20-year high. Additionally, the Violence Policy Center reports that Oklahoma ranked second in the nation for the rate at which women were murdered by men. (For more recent reports: 2025, 2024, 2023.)
“This violence needs to end, and we can all take part in the solution,” said Tracey Lyall, chief executive officer of Tulsa-based DVIS. “We are launching a series of intimate conversations to provide resources and a safe space for questions to victims, survivors, family members and those interested in helping to stop the cycle of abuse across Oklahoma.”
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DVIS Community Talks is an ongoing series of public gatherings designed to educate, understand and respond to different types of interpersonal violence in our communities.
“Because these issues affect people from all areas of our community, DVIS Community Talks will take place at diverse locations across the city and include the voices of survivors, partner organizations and community leaders,” added Lyall.
The first conversation was held Oct. 20, 2022 on Purple Thursday, also widely known as Domestic Violence Awareness Day. Community members, survivors, and advocates joined the discussion with Lyall, Amy Hall, a family violence detective with the Tulsa Police Department at Hodges Bend (823 E. Third St. in Tulsa.) Upcoming conversations will be held in January for National Stalking Awareness and Human Trafficking Prevention Month; April for Sexual Assault Awareness Month; and in June when the National Network to End Domestic Violence (NNEDV) joins the national recognition of Pride Month to raise awareness for physical and sexual abuse among the LGBTQIA+ community.