Christina Abner (33) died after her boyfriend Keith Lee (34) shot and killed her in her home last year, 10 days before Christmas. Lee then assaulted and injured Christina’s three children, ages two, four, and 10. The older children fled and asked for help from a neighbor, after which emergency responders took Lee and the children for treatment at the hospital after he killed their mother and injured them.
Lee, who has a history of abuse, was charged with murder and three counts of injury to a child. The month before Christina died, authorities charged Lee with harassment after Abner reported him three times in the six months prior.
Abner’s story is one of 205 Texas stories who were killed by their partners, comprising 179 women and 26 men. Perpetrators also killed 16 and injured 12 others, according to data from the Texas Council on Family Violence (TCVF).
- In the state, 64 counties experienced at least one domestic violence homicide, with Harris County leading the chart with 35 women and three male victims. It is followed by Dallas (26 victims), Bexar (14), Tarrant (8), Travis (6) and Hidalgo (6) counties.
- Abusive partners killed more victims in domestic violence incidents than all other means combined.
- Out of the 205 cases, 142 were shot, 29 were stabbed, 10 were physically assaulted, 11 were strangled, and 14 by other means.
- Among women, the youngest killed was 15 years old, while the oldest was 88. The youngest man killed was 18, while the oldest was 66.
- Further, 92 had separated or ended their relationships, 49 sought help, 52% had taken measures to end the abuse, and 72% were killed at home.
To address this issue, Houston city, in collaboration with Council Member Twila Carter, county leaders, police, and organizations launched a new digital domestic violence awareness tool to help victims find resources on their devices and a billboard campaign.
All they have to do is scan a QR code, available in English and Spanish in public spaces across the city, and click on the link that says, “I’m ok. Are you ok?” The city has plans to expand the QR code into Chinese, Vietnamese, and Korean.
The page contains resources, including tools for preparation and planning, like finding safe areas in one’s home, identifying risk areas, protecting children, keeping emergency contacts close to you on your phone, backing your car into the drive, having emergency money, and using code words. It also includes tools to organize paperwork, safe houses, personal items, and legal services after leaving a relationship if danger persists.
CEO Gloria Aguilera Terry says over 200,000 calls were made to law enforcement because a victim was unsafe in their home, and more than 87,000 people – mostly women and children – sought services from organizations.
She added domestic violence is often a learned behavior passed down through generations and can be prevented through education, counseling, and intervention programs. Terry also emphasized the stigma victims feel that prevents them from reporting these cases, supporting those who are at risk of becoming abusers, and the need for safe spaces.
“We must address the root causes and prevent domestic violence,” Terry said. “It means addressing broader issues like economic insecurity, substance abuse, and mental health challenges. By investing in social services, job training, affordable housing, and mental health care, we can address some of the underlying conditions that can lead to violence.”
Precinct 4 Commissioner Lesley Briones launched the program and said the QR code could be available in 300 sites across her precinct, including parks and community centers. She stressed the county’s focus is on youth who witness intimate partner violence and their susceptibility to the cycle of violence. She plans to address this by using $6.2 million in federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding that Harris County Commissioners unanimously approved earlier in May.
“Those who are abused are more likely to become abusers,” Briones said. “We want to double down on trauma-based care and resources for those family members, specifically the children.”
Jessica Anderson, assistant chief of the Houston Police Department, said domestic violence cases across the city have increased by 20%, making up 10% of all reports. One out of four homicides in Houston are related to DV since January, she said, which can include threats, harassment, controlling finances, and pressuring for sex. Moreover, those arrested for violent crimes like robbery often have DV incidents in their backgrounds.
“Unlike victims of other crimes, domestic violence victims may not always recognize or be able to cry for help or call for help, which is why it’s important that we recognize that we all have a role to play and are recognizing these signs so that we can take steps to help those who need it,” Anderson said, stressing on utilizing resources like HPD’s Domestic Abuse Response Team (DART) Program, which provide victims an advocate to help them navigate the system. “Victims are not alone. There are these resources available, whether it’s beds, shelter, space, or compensation.”
Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez discussed the protection of teenagers against DV and the importance of collaboration among parents, teachers, law enforcement, elected officials, nonprofits, and community organizations to provide support for victims.
“I promise you that today there’s a child sitting in our community in some classroom that witnessed domestic violence in their home,” he said. “They will likely become those future abusers that we talk about. Young ladies will learn what an unhealthy relationship is about and end up perhaps getting caught up in an unhealthy, intimate partner teen violence type of relationship. We need to stop that. We could do better.”
Domestic violence demographics
According to the TCVF report, victims in Texas last year included:
73 Latinx or Hispanic women (40%)
64 white women (36%)
43 Black women (24%)
11 Asian women (6%)
Nine white men (36%)
Nine Black men (36%)
Four Latinx or Hispanic men (16%)
The report further stated that marginalized communities, including Black, Indigenous, and Latinx populations, members of the LGBTQ+ community, undocumented individuals, people experiencing homelessness, and low-income individuals face barriers to accessing reproductive and sexual healthcare and IPV support services in Texas due to systemic inequities and discrimination.
What organizations say
Sandra Massie Hines, the CEO and founder of Junior Achievers and Sunnyside Silver Hair Seniors Group Inc. and community leader at Sunnyside for more than three decades, said elder abuse must also be stressed. In fact, the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS) reported an increase in such cases from 60,000 cases in 2022 to 83,000 cases in 2023.
“Those persons who were reaching out to get help, we weren’t able to get too many people to help them,” she said. “There’s a whole slew of people suffering in silence. The elderly people that call me, they look at their perpetrators every day. It’s their family members, and it’s almost seemingly hopeless to them because these are people they know and then they’re intimidated that you’re not gonna take them seriously.”
Hines believes the QR code, albeit helpful, is not enough and organizations need to work in neighborhoods and be available for those in need, because this demographic lacks a means of communication like a cellphone.
Maisha Colter, CEO of AVDA, a domestic abuse treatment center in Houston, said digital resources can be key for victims to seek help because they are “non-threatening” and that the agency sees an increase in reported cases when such campaigns are launched.
However, the road to gaining trust with victims of color is long, owing to their lack of trust in law enforcement. She added that African American women face disproportionate levels of physical abuse.
“When someone is Black and a survivor of domestic abuse, sometimes they are not willing to go to law enforcement to pursue those resources because they think it poses the risks for them as well as for the harm-doer,” Colter said. “So they’re protective of them [absuers] in some instances because they have this fear about how a law enforcement might respond.”
Deputy Director of Bay Area Turning Point Wykesha Dixon believes a combination of both digital resources and community engagement is important to address DV issues.
“While our hotline is 24/7, we have someone who’s able to answer crisis calls all the time,” she said. “However, being on the ground and sharing the resources, knowledge, and awareness is important because for someone to be able to call the hotline, they have to know the benefits of the hotline and the hotline number. Having advocates on the ground helps people to connect to the hotlines so that survivors can access those resources.”
Helplines
For help, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 800-799-7233 or a local domestic violence program.
Harris County/AVDA’s Main Office: 713-224-9911
