April 23, 2026, FOX19NOW
CINCINNATI (WXIX) – A ceremony was held Thursday to welcome a new 24/7 hotline hub for domestic violence survivors in the Tri-state.
The Women Helping Women hotline went from one small room 52 years ago to an entire call center dedicated to supporting domestic violence survivors.
Unfortunately, the need for the space is in part because of the increase in domestic violence and sexual assault, both in the state and beyond.
“It was just a small office, and we recruited as many people as we could to be volunteers,” Jill Bley, founding member, said.
“We were all students at UC, and we had a women’s center, and we kept getting calls from women about rape and things and we didn’t know what to do. So we got together and started talking about what we could do.”
What started off as an idea to help others in any way quickly grew into a life-saving organization.
On Thursday, a new space dedicated to increasing infrastructure for survivors’ safety was revealed.
“Because we quantifiably know, unfortunately, that violence has increased in the nation, in the state and in the region, we had to increase our ability to respond,” Kristin Shrimplin, president and CEO, said.
In 2025, Women Helping Women answered more than 20,000 domestic violence calls, the largest call volume in the state for survivors and a 6% increase from 2024. The organization’s projected call volume will hit a record in 2026.
The space allows for more calls to be taken, but it’s also a way to bring the previously remote hotline team together so that they can have support for the secondhand trauma that comes from answering those calls.
“Up to 55% of survivors are experiencing strangulation, so when we answer that call, it’s hugely critical not only to bring more of a dedicated space, but to support the staff that are answering that call,” Shrimplin said.
We know domestic violence impacts half of all women and one in every four men, and those odds keep increasing year after year.
The hotline is open 24/7, 365 days a year at 513-381-5610.
