Forty-six movie theaters throughout the state will show a new movie trailer during the month of October to highlight the problem of domestic abuse. It starts like any other movie preview, with the dramatic music and the “voice.” But the two-minute message is aimed at those in the theater who may be the victim of abuse, or know someone who is. The number of Iowa’s Domestic Abuse Hotline is shown at the end. Iowa Department of Public Health director Mary Mincer Hansen says the trailer will be seen on 167 screens. Hansen says domestic violence is leading cause of injury-related deaths to women who are pregnant, and as abuse escalates it can result in serious injury and even death.Eric Tabor, the chief of staff for the Iowa Attorney General, says victims and their families and friends need to hear the message.Tabor says Americans go to movie houses to laugh and cry at American culture, and she says trailer shows domestic abuse is not an acceptable part of American life and it needs to be stopped. Lieutenant Governor Sally Pederson says in the past seven years, at least 61 Iowa women were murdered by a husband, boyfriend or intimate partner. The trailer was shown in Wisconsin theaters a couple of years ago, and the only complaint registered came from a man who said he had the right to hit his wife, and wanted his money back. State officials estimate that as many as 40-thousand Iowa women suffer abuse in the home. The number for the Domestic Abuse Hotline is 1-800-942-0333. State officials estimate about 80-thousand Iowans will see the trailer during its month-long run in 46 Iowa theaters.Participating theaters are Algona Theatre, Atlantic Theatre, Boone Theatre, Story Street in Boone, Sierra Theatre in Jefferson, Carroll Theatre, American Theatre in Cherokee, Vista Theatre in Storm Lake, Strand Theater in Creston, Lyric Teatre in Osceola, Coliseum Theater in Lamoni, South Central Iowa Theater in Leon, Showcase Cinema in Davenport, Viking Theatre in Decorah, Paramount Theatre in Oelwein, Fox Theatre in Fort Madison, Center Theatre in Grundy Center, Metropolitan Theatre in Iowa Falls, Fort 8 Theatre in Fort Dodge, Clarion Theatre, Humota Theatre in Lake City, Capri Theatre in Webster City, Village Theatre in Knoxville, Castle Theater in Manchester, Plaza Theatre in Marshalltown, Temple Theatre in Mt. Pleasant, Plaza Theatre in Muscatine, Cinema 6 in Iowa City, Campus Theatres in Iowa City, Coral Ridge Mall Theaters in Coralville, State Theatre in Washington, Penn Center Theatre in Oskaloosa, Grand Theatre in Perry, Cinema 5 in Sioux Center, Spencer Theatre, Grand Theater in Estherville, Riveriera Theatre in Emmetsburg, Springwood Theatre in Akeney, Copper Creek 9 in Pleasant Hill, Paramount Theatre in Indianola, Sierra 3 Cinemas in West Des Moines, Billy Joe’s Pitcher Show in West Des Moines, and the following Des Moines theaters: Silver Cinemas, Varsity Theatre, Merle Hay Mall Cinema, and Nova 10 Cinemas.
