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State Attorney announces creation of domestic violence unit

ORLANDO, Fla. — Experts estimate that every nine seconds a woman in the U.S. becomes the victim of domestic violence.

State Attorney Aramis Ayala announced Wednesday that she was forming a special unit that will have only one task: Fighting that statistic in Florida.

Ayala announced the new domestic violence during a media conference concerning new charges against Markeith Loyd, who is accused of killing his pregnant ex-girlfriend in December and an Orlando police officer in January.

Full list of domestic violence centers in Florida

“One in three women and one in four men have been victims of intimate partner violence,” Ayala said.

The specialized unit will be made up of 25 people and will include assistant state attorneys, victim’s advocates, investigators and paralegals.

They will work with local law enforcement and the community to tackle the domestic violence problem, Ayala said.

“I do recognize that domestic violence is not something the state attorney’s office can fix by itself,” she said.

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