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1992<br />
<strong>Alexandra</strong> <strong>House</strong> created<br />
its own Silent Witness<br />
Exhibit to commemorate<br />
<strong>the</strong> lives <strong>of</strong> Anoka County<br />
women and children who<br />
were lost to domestic<br />
violence.<br />
<strong>Alexandra</strong> <strong>House</strong><br />
launched Violence<br />
Prevention Services within<br />
schools in Anoka County<br />
(Youth Services).<br />
MN Legislation: Mandated<br />
that law enforcement<br />
create and implement<br />
Domestic Abuse Arrest<br />
Policies and prosecutors<br />
create and implement<br />
Domestic Abuse<br />
Prosecution Plans.<br />
<strong>Alexandra</strong> worked with <strong>the</strong><br />
Anoka County Attorneys<br />
Offi ce, city prosecutors,<br />
Anoka County Sheriff’s<br />
Offi ce, and law enforcement<br />
agencies to create<br />
and implement Domestic<br />
Abuse Arrest Policies and<br />
Prosecution Plans by 1994.<br />
<strong>Alexandra</strong> <strong>House</strong>’s Board<br />
<strong>of</strong> Directors passed a<br />
resolution to purchase<br />
land and build a new<br />
shelter in Blaine.<br />
<strong>Alexandra</strong> <strong>House</strong> unveiled<br />
a new logo to coincide<br />
with <strong>the</strong> building <strong>of</strong><br />
a new shelter and<br />
administrative <strong>of</strong>fi ces.<br />
1992... The Silent Witness Exhibit<br />
In 1990, an ad hoc group <strong>of</strong> women, upset about <strong>the</strong> growing<br />
number <strong>of</strong> women in Minnesota being murdered by <strong>the</strong>ir partners<br />
or acquaintances, joined toge<strong>the</strong>r with several o<strong>the</strong>r women’s<br />
organizations to form Arts Action Against Domestic Violence. The<br />
women designed 26 free-standing, life-sized red wooden figures,<br />
each one bearing <strong>the</strong> name <strong>of</strong> a woman who once lived, worked,<br />
had neighbors, friends, family, children—whose life ended violently<br />
at <strong>the</strong> hands <strong>of</strong> a husband, ex-husband, partner, or acquaintance.<br />
—Silent Witness National Initiative<br />
In 1992, <strong>Alexandra</strong> <strong>House</strong> created its own Silent Witness exhibit to<br />
commemorate <strong>the</strong> lives <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> women and children whose lives had<br />
been lost in Anoka County as a result <strong>of</strong> domestic violence. <strong>Alexandra</strong><br />
<strong>House</strong>’s exhibit consists <strong>of</strong> 24 free-standing, life-sized red wooden<br />
figures. Each bears <strong>the</strong> name <strong>of</strong> a woman and <strong>the</strong> story <strong>of</strong> her brutal<br />
murder. There also stands an “unknown” witness to represent <strong>the</strong><br />
countless victims whose murders went unsolved or were erroneously<br />
ruled accidental.<br />
<strong>Alexandra</strong> <strong>House</strong>’s Silent Witness Exhibit is a sacred memorial, carrying<br />
each person’s silent story to <strong>the</strong> world. It is in <strong>the</strong>ir memory that we<br />
march forward.<br />
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