'Silent Witnesses' to be unveiled

BOWLING GREEN, O.—In recognition of Domestic Violence Awareness Month, the Bowling Green State University Women's Center will host the unveiling of the 2010 collection of the northwest Ohio chapter of the Silent Witness Project. The event will take place at 6:30 p.m. Oct. 14 at the Zoar Lutheran Church, 314 E. Indiana Ave.,
in Perrysburg.

The Silent Witness Project is a national initiative, founded in 1991 in Minnesota, in response to an epidemic of domestic violence homicides. There now are local Silent Witness Project chapters in all 50 states. The BGSU Women's Center founded the northwest Ohio chapter in 2001.

The 2010 collection includes approximately 50 freestanding, life-sized wooden silhouettes, each bearing the name and story of a girl or woman whose life ended violently at the hands of a husband, boyfriend or other intimate partner. All Silent Witnesses in the collection were from this area. They represent victims ranging in age from teens to women in their 80s, all of whom were murdered within the
past decade.

The silhouettes will be revealed one by one in a solemn ceremony, each represented by an individual reader who will recount the story of the girl or woman represented by that figure.

The keynote speaker will be Mary Lauterbach, mother of Lance Corporal Maria Lauterbach, who was murdered in 2007 by a fellow Marine.

Family members will be present, and will be invited to speak during an open-mic session at the conclusion of the ceremony.

Along with BGSU, co-sponsors for the 2010 unveiling include more than 30 regional organizations. For more information, call the Women's Center, at 419-372-7227.

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(Posted October 05, 2010 )