The release of the latest Domestic Violence Fatality Review is heartbreaking. Behind every statistic is a person whose life mattered, a family forever changed, and a community left asking what more could have been done. These losses are not inevitable. They are preventable.
As Colorado continues to experience alarming rates of domestic violence and intimate partner homicide, we must recognize that this is a public health crisis and a community responsibility. It impacts our workplaces, schools, neighborhoods, health care systems, and criminal legal system. It affects children, friends, coworkers, and loved ones.
At the Rose Andom Center, we have the privilege of walking alongside survivors every day. We witness extraordinary resilience, courage, and hope. We also see the barriers that can make leaving an abusive relationship dangerous and incredibly complex. Safety is rarely as simple as walking away. Survivors often face threats, financial instability, housing insecurity, fear for their children, and the very real possibility that violence may escalate when they seek help.
This report helps us understand where opportunities to intervene were missed and where systems must improve. But collecting data cannot be the end of our response. If we are willing to document the lives lost, we must also be willing to fund the work that can prevent those losses. Its findings must translate into sustained investment in prevention, early intervention, safe housing, advocacy, and coordinated survivor services. We cannot call for stronger responses while allowing the organizations responsible for providing them to lose the staff and resources that make those responses possible.
Preventing domestic violence requires an entire community committed to recognizing warning signs, believing survivors, holding those who cause harm accountable, and ensuring that lifesaving services remain available to everyone who needs them. For policymakers, funders, and community leaders, that means making prevention and survivor safety lasting budget priorities. The measure of our response must include what we do with this information—and whether we provide the resources to act on it.
If you know someone experiencing abuse, your support matters. Listen without judgment. Believe them. Offer resources instead of ultimatums. Understand that seeking safety can carry serious risks, and that survivors deserve compassion and support as they navigate their choices.
If you are experiencing abuse yourself, know this: you are not alone. There are people ready to help. There is no shame in asking for support, and there is no “right time” to reach out. Whether you are ready to make a plan, simply ask questions, or explore your options, you deserve safety, dignity, and the opportunity to make decisions on your own terms.
We honor those whose lives are reflected in this report by turning what we learn into action—and by sustaining the work that can help others reach safety.
With hope and resolve,
Whitney Woods
Executive Director
Rose Andom Center
Read the full 2026 report here.