THIBODAUX – At a Tuesday night vigil, five black, life-sized silhouettes stood to memorialize women killed in Lafourche and Assumption parishes during the past three years as a result of domestic violence.

(Abby Tabor/Staff)

Josie Whitlock (from left), 11. Caitlin Callais, 11, and Rachel Whitlock were among those who attended a Tuesday night candlelight vigil on the Nicholls State University campus in Thibodaux. The annual event is designed to raise awareness of domestic violence.

While the silhouettes acted as a sobering reminder for the crowd attending the ceremony in Nicholls State’s quadrangle area, officials pointed out neither parish recorded a death related to domestic violence in 2006.

That’s not to say anyone proposed letting their guard down.

Law-enforcement officials, students and other concerned community members denounced domestic violence during the vigil, designed to raise campus and community awareness of brutality against women. The vigil was held in conjunction with Domestic Violence Awareness Month.

“It takes the whole community to work together to end this,” said Annette Whitlock, outreach coordinator and legal advisor for Chez Hope, a nonprofit group that assists abused and battered families and hosted the vigil.

“It’s not a personal or private matter. We’re excited people came out to show their support.” Whitlock noted the turnout was one of the best she had seen locally for a similar event.

Chez Hope, which has outreach offices in Lafourche Parish, offers optional counseling, support groups, shelter, assistance with legal issues and a children’s program.

On a table in the quadrangle, purple-and-white ribbons were made available for women and men. So, too, were candles, which were lit toward the end of the program, after the sun went down. There were also wooden hearts on the table, each with written messages from survivors of domestic violence. White T-shirts, with empowering messages written on them, hung from nearby trees.

“It is something very real, very near,” Thibodaux Police Chief Craig Melancon said. “Thousands of domestic-violence cases exist in the Houma-Thibodaux area, unfortunately.”

Indeed, Lafourche Parish Assistant District Attorney Diana Sanders, who handles domestic-violence cases, said her office handled 455 such cases in 2006. Of those, 328, or 72 percent, were convicted.

Sanders notes that the District Attorney’s Office generally does not allow victims to refuse to testify. The victim’s safety does come first, however, meaning charges are dismissed if it’s decided the victim is in immediate danger.

In 2007, the District Attorney’s Office has worked 324 cases to date, with 212 resolved, either because defendants were found guilty or entered a guilty plea, according to Sanders.

“In Lafourche Parish, there is a cultural bias that says what happens in the home stays in the home,” Sanders said. “If you have a mother or sister being abused, you need to report that.

“It’s not a family matter,” Sanders added. “It’s a community matter. We all have to take a stand against domestic violence.”

Lafourche Parish Sheriff Craig Webre said much has changed regarding the way domestic violence is viewed, at least since he began his law-enforcement career in 1980.

“The last 10-15 years we’ve not allowed people to suffer without (the) support of the criminal-justice system,” Webre said.

Though society has begun to change, the perspectives of many abused women have not. Assumption Parish Sheriff Mike Waguespack said 50 percent of the women who file charges do not appear in court.