Wilton officials held the town’s annual Domestic Violence Awareness Proclamation on Wednesday, Oct. 11 on the steps of Town Hall. The event was held to mark October as Domestic Violence Awareness Month in Wilton.
Most glaring in the information and data included in the proclamation is the statistic that 2022 represented a five-year high of domestic-related incidents in Wilton: in total, there were 106 such incidents, 57 of which involved family violence — a 46% increase from the year before.
The Wilton Police Department has seven officers serving as domestic violence liaisons, including Deputy Chief Robert Cipolla, Sgt. Anthony Cocco, School Resource Officer Elise Ackerman, Ofc. Brandon Harris, Ofc. Melissa LaPak, Ofc. Sean Baranowski, and Ofc. Graham O’Gorman.
Residents are encouraged to reach out to any of the seven officers with non-emergency questions.
Wilton police work closely with the Wilton Social Services Department as well as Wilton’s Domestic Violence Task Force, all of whom collaborate with the Norwalk- and Stamford-based Domestic Violence Crisis Center (DVCC) that serves Fairfield County.
Among the efforts to draw attention to the issue of domestic violence in Wilton, Connecticut native and author Dana Buckmir will be part of a Wilton Library discussion on the topic. Buckmir tells her story about surviving domestic violence and reclaiming her voice in her recent memoir, Everything Will Be Okay. She’ll talk with DVCC COO Ann Rodwell-Lawton and Deputy Chief Cipolla.
Officials also encourage residents to wear purple — the color that represents raising awareness about domestic violence — on Purple Thursday, Oct. 19.