MADISON, Wis. -- October is the month where the public is reminded to think pink for breast cancer awareness, but another worthy cause shares the spotlight during the month: domestic violence awareness.

The signature ribbon for the Domestic Violence Awareness Month is purple. On Monday, dozens of survivors, friends and officials -- from local police, sheriff's departments and the district attorney's office -- held a somber walk around the state capitol in honor of those who died in the past year from domestic abuse and violence.

A survivor who goes by the name "Sally" was among those walking.

"One of my greatest fears was not only dying -- him killing me -- but also the fact that I could die and no one would remember me," she said.

Sally survived 10 years of physical and emotional abuse before summoning the courage to take her three children and leave her husband.

"I honestly never believed I would live past a couple of months," she said. "I believed he would find me. I believed he would kill me or us."

Sally changed her name and has moved several times in order to maintain her safety, but 10 years later, she said she still worries.

"This is a critical issue for our country, for our state, for our nation, for our society as a whole," said Assistant Madison Police Chief Randy Gaber.

This year alone, Madison police have responded to 3,000 service calls that were domestic-abuse related, WISC-TV reported.

"In 2008, a staggering 40 percent of the aggravated assaults that we handled were domestic related," said Gaber.

On Monday, those who walked held flags bearing the names of 46 people across the state who died from domestic violence in 2008.

Sally carried the name of Aaron Roberts. Roberts was only 11 months old when he was brutally killed by his father in February 2008. Medical authorities described the infant's injuries as comparable to those sustained falling from a three-story building or suffered in a high-speed crash. Roberts' father, David Roberts, was sentenced to 15 years in prison for the incident.

"It is just a shame that women and people die year after year after year, and this is just my way of standing up and saying, 'Hey, I won't forget you. You are important.' And I want to keep advocating for people," said Sally.

That advocacy seems needed now more than ever. Shannon Barry, director of Domestic Abuse Intervention Services, said her organization has seen the highest demand for services than ever before in 32 years. Barry said the economy is to blame.

"In the first two quarters of 2009, there's been a 145 percent increase in the number of callers requesting shelter services compared to last year," said Barry.

This month across the state, there will be purple silhouettes, purple flags and purple ribbons to remind the public that one in every four women will be a victim of domestic abuse at some point in their lives.

Barry said she doesn’t feel like the issue is overshadowed by Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

"It's sort of a sister issue in many ways because it's a women's health issue," said Barry. "I think we have a lot to learn from the breast cancer movement --20 years ago nobody talked about breast cancer."

Barry also said there is a large community of support for those diagnosed with breast cancer. She said that network of love makes it easier for a breast cancer survivor to speak out. With issues of domestic violence, however, many survivors still fear coming forward because of their safety.

Barry said she hopes the domestic abuse movement will make the same headway over the years that the breast cancer movement has.

"I know that each of us will work until no more women die at the hands of people who claim to love them, until no more children are orphaned, and until every home is a safe, peaceful home," said Barry.

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other events planned for the month of October.