Each year in Connecticut, an average of 14 people are killed by an intimate partner.

Last year, 16 people were killed by their partners in Connecticut, and at least half of those homicides were witnessed by children at an average age of 6, according to the Connecticut Coalition Against Domestic Violence.

“As much as we have done to work on this issue we have a lot of work left to do,” said CCDAV president and CEO Meghan Scanlon on Monday, as advocates across the state kicked off Domestic Violence Awareness Month at the start of October.

“We owe it to [those children] to make sure that their entire life is not defined by this one moment that they had no control over.”

Domestic violence advocacy groups across Connecticut are focused not only on providing direct support to survivors who are in crisis, but on ramping up prevention work to help children who have been exposed to domestic violence at a young age and to teach children and teens how to spot red flags in relationships and where to turn when they arise.

Hartford Mayor Luke Bronin, who spoke at the State Capitol on Monday to help kick off the month of awareness, said that children who are exposed to domestic violence are much more likely to become victims or perpetrators of domestic violence themselves.

“We have to do everything we can as a community to try to break that cycle,” the mayor said.

One way to accomplish that goal, said Bronin, is to make sure that young people are learning “what they can and should demand and expect from healthy relationships.”

Through state and city partnerships with domestic violence prevention advocates, children and teens are also being taught to recognize the signs of an unhealthy relationship so that they can “raise the alarm when it needs to be raised,” said Bronin.

“There’s enormous power for our young people if they are able to recognize what healthy relationships and unhealthy relationships look like.”

The prevention work is part of what groups such as CCDAV and Interval House are highlighting in October, along with a declaration that domestic violence is not a family issue, or a behind-closed-doors problem, but a public health crisis.

“The real issue is that domestic violence is a public health issue,” said Mary-Jane Foster, president and CEO of Interval House, an organization founded in 1977 that is dedicated to ending domestic violence. “It’s not just a family matter, it’s not just a community matter, it’s not just a work violence issue, it is a public health issue.”

Foster said that according to guidelines from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, intimate partner violence qualifies as a public health issue because it is widespread, has a significant impact and has the potential for long lasting ramifications, including lifelong physical and emotional impacts on survivors.

Interval House is Connecticut’s largest domestic violence agency, serving Hartford and surrounding 23 towns and cities. In 2022, 6,200 Connecticut residents were helped with domestic violence issues just in the Hartford region.

With its 18 member-organizations across the state, CCDAV served around 40,000 more people in 2022. Over 13,000 individuals reached out for help through their hotline.

According to the CDC, over 12 million people experience domestic violence or intimate partner abuse every year across the country.

Bronin on Monday said these numbers were “staggering.”

“Those are not statistics, those are lives, those are lives in our community, they’re families in our communities,” he said – people who are experiencing “fear and terror and pain” every day.

The month of October, he hopes, provides an opportunity for “talking openly and honestly and shining a bright light on this problem and what we’re doing about it, and more importantly, all that needs to be done.”

In Hartford on Monday, Interval House kicked off its annual “Purple With a Purpose” campaign – a nod to the awareness month’s signature color – to highlight the extent to which domestic violence impacts everyone living in Connecticut.

This year’s initiatives frame domestic violence as a public health crisis and focuses on the work being done to educate the public on the community-wide impacts of domestic violence, including the economic toll.

Intimate partner violence costs the United States more than $9 billion each year in direct care, law enforcement, and judicial services costs each year, Foster said.

According to a 2003 study by the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control at the CDC, the cost of intimate partner violence over an individual’s lifetime averages about $103,000 for women and $23,000 for men, including lost productivity from paid work, criminal justice costs, medical services and other expenses.

The Connecticut Paid Leave Authority on Monday reminded Connecticut residents that covered workers who meet eligibility requirements may receive up to 12 days of CT Paid Leave benefits if they are a victim of family violence.

That time can be used to address certain issues arising from the family violence, like receiving medical care or mental health care, time spent working with victim services organizations and time dedicated to relocating to safer environments or attending court proceedings as their case moves through the judicial system.

Eligible workers can use CT Paid Leave benefits to care for children who are experiencing serious health conditions, including mental or physical illnesses or injuries, that are connected to family violence.

An update to Connecticut’s paid sick days law that went into effect on October 1 allows eligible service workers to use 40 hours of accrued paid sick time to care for a child who has been a victim of family violence of sexual assault and to assist their child in receiving medical care, counseling or victim services. That time can also be used to accompany children to criminal or civil court proceedings or help with relocation.

Scanlon said these changes help make sure folks across Connecticut who are victims of family violence have access to support they need.

“The change to Connecticut’s paid sick days law is important to ensure that everyone has equitable access to support regardless of the industry in which they work. We know that domestic violence is a public health crisis,” said Scanlon.

Erin Choquette, CEO of CT Paid Leave, said “the CT Paid Leave Act and the paid sick days statutes continue to work in tandem to provide needed benefits for those struggling with family violence so they can get the support and care they need.”

To apply for paid leave online, workers can visit www.ctpaidleave.org.

For 24/7 free, confidential support through CCDAV, visit www.ctcadv.org  or www.ctsafeconnect.com or call or text (888) 774-2900.

Interval House’s hotline can be reached by calling 860-838-8467.

Confidential, free support groups provided by certified domestic violence counselors are also available through Interval House, with childcare provided at all sessions, on Tuesdays from 6 to 7:30 p.m. in Hartford and Wednesdays from 6 to 7:30 p.m. in Manchester.

Interval House has several upcoming events, including the Jennifer Farber Dulos Memorial Walk to End Domestic Violence being held at Dunkin’ Park in Hartford at 9 a.m. Oct 7 to honor victims and survivors, and the Breakfast with Champions annual breakfast on Oct. 25 that celebrates partnerships with healthcare providers who connect victims of domestic violence to Interval House.