October is National Domestic Violence Awareness Month – and to mark the occasion, Chapel Hill’s Compass Center for Women and Families is hosting an event at City Kitchen, Wednesday evening from 6-8 pm.

It’s called “The Unmasking of Domestic Violence.” There will be food and live music – and also masks for sale, to represent the extent to which domestic violence remains a hidden issue, here in Orange County as well as nationwide.

Approximately one in four women will suffer domestic violence in their lifetimes. It’s an issue that’s not often discussed, but Chapel Hill Police Chief Chris Blue says he sees it firsthand on a regular basis.

“From January to June of just this year, our agency alone responded to 145 domestic-related incidents – (and) those are just the ones we know about,” he says. “We know that a very small number of domestic-related conflicts get reported to law enforcement, yet we went to 145…

“Perhaps an even scarier number – and why the Compass Center is so important – is that in 58 of those cases, those were repeat occurrences. Those were places we’d been before. And that speaks to how difficult it is for folks to extract themselves from those situations and get the support that they need.”

The Compass Center offers a variety of services for survivors of domestic violence. Volunteer Marla Benton says Wednesday’s event is about raising awareness of the issue – and also a way to encourage people to make their voices heard.

“The big thing about domestic violence is coming out and talking about it,” she says. “It’s still the big secret. People don’t want to talk about it, they’re embarrassed, they want to protect themselves, they want to protect their families…

“There are people out there that think, ‘forget about it, move on, don’t talk about it anymore,’ but that’s not the right thing to do. The right thing to do is to come out, talk about it, support each other, get help, go to Compass Center, talk to police and family and friends. And that’s what (Wednesday’s event) is all about.”

The “Unmasking of Domestic Violence” event is taking place at City Kitchen, this Wednesday from 6-8 pm. Donations and other proceeds will go to benefit the Compass Center. Learn more at CompassCTR.org.