04/16/2026
I am furious.
This is a tragedy, but it is not shocking. It is what happens when serious allegations of violence against women are not taken seriously enough, when patterns of harm are minimized, and when systems fail to act before that harm escalates. This was preventable.
Women are not responsible for the violence committed against them. And yet, time and again, men externalize their failures, their anger, and their sense of loss onto women, with devastating consequences.
A woman is dead. Children have lost their mother. A family and a community are left to carry the weight of this violence.
Just yesterday, I testified before the Fairfax County Government Board of Supervisors on the urgent need to invest in women’s safety and security. This is exactly why. Funding for prevention, intervention, and survivor support is not optional, it is the difference between life and death.
As Chair of the Commission for Women, I will continue to push for the resources, policies, and accountability measures needed to stop this pattern of violence.
Believe women. Protect women.
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Note: This is not an official statement on behalf of the Commission for Women or Fairfax County Government. All views expressed are my own.
Former Virginia Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax, a Democrat whose tenure was marred by sexual assault allegations, shot and killed his wife, Cerina Fairfax, inside their home and then killed himself, police said.