DV Conference to Address 250 Percent Increase in Deaths

The horrific murder-suicide, which investigators believe could have been provoked by the elder Daou's desire to take revenge upon his wife for leaving him, resonated in Santa Clara County, where domestic violence deaths have increased this year by 250 percent.

There were five DV-related deaths in 2010 and there have been 11 this year, four in the Los Gatos-Saratoga area.

To address the alarming increase, the Santa Clara County Domestic Violence Council hosts its 18th annual conference 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m., Friday, Oct. 28, at the Santa Clara Marriott Hotel, 2700 Mission College Blvd.

The conference theme this year is "Engaging, Motivating, Inspiring Men: The Crucial Next Step in Domestic Violence Prevention," and it's open to the public. Admission is $100. To register, please click here.

The council puts on a conference every year in October in honor of DV Awareness Month. 

"This is an opportunity to provide continuing education for local service providers such as DV shelter staff and advocates, mental health professionals, law enforcement members, court staff and judges, attorneys, and medical personnel," said Fariba R. Soroosh, family law facilitator for Santa Clara County Superior Court. 

The conference will explore the role of men in domestic violence prevention and programs and interventions that promote non-violence, healthy relationships, the importance of fatherhood, men as leaders and coaches, and how to engage men  to break the cycle of violence, Soroosh said.

Nationally recognized experts Lundy Bancroft and Jerry Tello will be featured in keynote presentations.

"Los Gatos has its fair share of DV incidents but perhaps not much awareness by the community," Soroosh said, referring to the Daou tragedy and the

Their bodies were discovered in their Walbrook Drive home in Saratoga.

"There is a false sense of security in that DV only happens in certain neighborhoods and to certain families; low-income, minorities, uneducated, etc. ... DV knows no boundaries and crosses cultural, economical and other divides," Soroosh emphasized.

Details: 408-294-0006, or nmarshall@dvintervention.org