Honoring Texas Victims

Trigger Warning: This episode includes discussion of domestic violence, trauma, and homicide. Please listen with care and step away if you need a break. Behind every statistic is a life. In this episode of Down the Rabbit Hole, William sits down with Tracie and Samantha, and guest Wendy Arias, Coordinated Community Response Coordinator for the Texas Council on Family Violence (TCFV), to discuss the Honoring Texas Victims (HTV) 2024 Intimate Partner Fatality Report. Wendy walks us through how the report is created, from reviewing homicide cases to working with partners across Texas to ensure accuracy and accountability. The conversation covers key findings from the 2024 data, including trends related to firearms, age ranges, and the broader impact of intimate partner violence (IPV) on families and communities. We also discuss why victim narratives are central to the report, keeping the focus on people rather than statistics. Wendy reflects on the emotional toll of working with fatality data and the importance of community care for advocates and prevention workers. Listen in for a grounded, compassionate conversation about violence, prevention, and the human cost behind the data.