Palmetto State News

Citing her advocacy and experience in developing the state's first protocols on combating violence against women, state Sen. Mia S. McLeod is running for governor of South Carolina. 

"I have worked with attorneys general and governors on both sides of the aisle to take on SC’s domestic violence crisis and develop the state’s first Violence Against Women Protocols and Curricula," McLeod said in a Twitter post. 

The Richland Democrat said she also worked in the compensation area of victim's rights, which other states later used. 

"I directed SC’s Crime Victim Compensation Program, which became a national model for other states in the areas of fiscal responsibility and increased accessibility, under my leadership," McLeod tweeted. 

There are an average of 36,000 assaults reported to law enforcement ever year in South Carolina, according to statistics from the Domestic Abuse Center. 

South Carolina was the state with the highest number of women killed by men in 2014, said the Domestic Abuse Center. That number is twice the national average, said the Domestic Abuse Center. 

Additionally, South Carolina has been in the top ten states every year for the past 20 years, according to statistics from the Violence Policy Center on the Domestic Abuse Center website. 

"As your next Governor, I want to make SC a leader in everything we do," McLeod said. 

Nationally, the U.S. Institute of Justice says that more than 1 in 3 women, and 1 in 4 men have experienced rape, physical violence and/or stalking during their lifetime. 

Additionally, almost two thirds of the female stalking victims were stalked by a current or former partner and for male victims, that number is 43%, said the Domestic Abuse Center on its website.