WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — More than 100 people gathered in downtown Wilmington on Thursday night for a Take Back the Night march and rally, standing in solidarity with survivors of domestic violence while calling for changes to North Carolina laws to better protect victims and hold abusers accountable.
The event, organized by Domestic Violence Shelter and Services Inc., took place at the Harrelson Center and brought together survivors, advocates, law enforcement and community organizations.
For Hannah McCoy, the issue of domestic violence is deeply personal, even though she has never experienced it herself.
“It’s really hard, it’s really devastating to see someone you love be in a situation where they don’t have power, they don’t have control,” McCoy said.
McCoy has watched loved ones struggle with domestic violence throughout her life, describing the helplessness that comes with seeing someone experience abuse.
“I’ve seen some really horrific things. It feels like a powerless situation because it’s not something that you can fix and even if we really want to jump in and fix it, it’s not in our hands and so the control, all of the control really goes to the abuser,” McCoy said.
Rather than allowing that feeling of helplessness to hold her back, McCoy decided to become an advocate for survivors, learning that supporting someone experiencing domestic violence requires patience, understanding and a willingness to listen.
“In actually experiencing it with someone and walking beside them, you learn that it’s not ever that simple and I realized that I needed to be someone who is supportive and someone who is listening and willing to give power back instead of just another person telling them what to do,” McCoy said.
On Thursday night, McCoy was surrounded by more than 100 people sharing that same message of support.
The event began with participants marching through parts of downtown Wilmington, chanting and calling for an end to domestic violence.
Mandy Houvouras, outreach director for Domestic Violence Shelter and Services Inc., said the large turnout demonstrated the importance of community partnerships in supporting survivors and helping them find resources.
“It takes our whole community to make a difference and show up for survivors,” Houvouras said.
She highlighted the involvement of law enforcement, the district attorney’s office, organizations within the Harrelson Center, the Community Justice Center, the Rape Crisis Center and Novant Health.
Houvouras said those partnerships help create a strong support network for people experiencing domestic violence, while reminding survivors that they do not have to suffer in silence and that help is available when they are ready.
Beyond raising awareness, Thursday’s event also focused on potential changes to North Carolina law aimed at better protecting survivors and holding abusers accountable.
North Carolina Attorney General Jeff Jackson served as the event’s keynote speaker, addressing ongoing discussions with state lawmakers about strengthening protections for domestic violence survivors.
“Conversation that we’re having with legislators right now is about specifically our strangulation law. It really needs to be modernized, it needs to be more realistic given the type of damage that is done and I think that we have a very good chance of amending that law in a way that would be very helpful with domestic violence,” Jackson said.
For McCoy, the possibility of legislative reform offers hope that survivors could face fewer barriers when seeking justice.
“For the people at the bottom to do their work, the people at the top have to support that and policy has to support that. And so I hope that having people, policyholders here really pushes that needle on reforming some of these policies in North Carolina that make it harder for survivors to get justice,” McCoy said.
