NATCHEZ &8212; She doesn&8217;t want to use her name. She&8217;s not ashamed &8212; not at all.

She&8217;s afraid.

Many people are touched by domestic violence, and this middle-aged woman is one of them.

A Hurricane Katrina survivor, she left her husband earlier this year. Now, he&8217;s looking for her, and she&8217;s afraid he&8217;ll find her.

Only a select few members of her family know where she is, and she wants it to stay that way.

After more than 30 years of marriage, she left her physically and verbally abusive husband.

&8220;I was waiting for the right time to leave,&8221; she said. &8220;Before, I was more afraid to leave &8212; we had been together so long. Now, my children were gone, and they wouldn&8217;t even bring my grandchildren around the house very often because of him.&8221;

One summer day, he started yelling threats. She thought of the instance not long before, when he threatened that the next time, he would severely injure her.

So she packed a suitcase, put an extra pair of shoes in a backpack, and started walking. A generous driver picked her up after a few miles and drove her to another town.

October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month, and people sometimes don&8217;t realize domestic violence can mean more than just bruises, said Sue Ann Brown, director of domestic violence programs with The Guardian Shelter.

&8220;It can range from physical, emotional, sexual and mental abuses,&8221; Brown said.

The woman who escaped her abusive husband agreed.

&8220;Verbal abuse is just as bad as physical abuse,&8221; she said, having experienced both.

&8220;It can take your pride and self-steem and make you feel worth nothing.&8221;

The Natchez shelter provides a place for abused women and children to go for safety.

It also provides daycare, help getting employment, transportation, legal advocacy, and counseling, and teaches them to look for signs a person is abusive.

The Adams County Sheriff&8217;s Office has had 60 reports of domestic violence so far this year and 54 last year.

Sheriff Ronny Brown said domestic violence cases were one of the worst an officer could respond to.

&8220;They&8217;re fighting, and the officer has to get in the middle of the dispute,&8221; Brown said. &8220;You never know how it&8217;s going to escalate.&8221;

By law, if an officer responds to a domestic violence call and there is evidence of abuse, he must make an arrest.

That can be a problem if all parties involved have injuries like scratches, bruises or broken bones.

An officer has to decide which individual started the fight. If he can&8217;t, he will arrest both of them and the courts will decide the case.

&8220;A good percentage of officers killed in the U.S. are responding to domestic disturbance calls, and many more are assaulted,&8221; Natchez Police Chief Mike Mullins said.

Over the past year, Mullins&8217; office has received 308 domestic violence calls, and the numbers over the last few years have hovered around 380.

&8220;When you suspect it, you need to call and report it,&8221; Mullins said. &8220;If we get a call, we will respond and investigate.&8221;

Vidalia Police Chief Billy Hammers said if a neighbor knows someone is being abused, he should call.

&8220;A lot of the time, (abuse victims) are too scared to tell anybody,&8221; Hammers said.

Those who do not feel they can call police have options like The Guardian Shelter and other groups that can help.

The woman who left her abusive husband said fear kept her from leaving for years, but she was very glad she did.

She now has a steady job and a safe place to live. But she still fears someday her husband will find her.

&8220;Abuse can happen to anyone &8212; black, white, woman, man, 20 years old or older than me,&8221; she said. &8220;It&8217;s your will, your strength and your mind you have to take control of in order to be free.&8221;