“I didn’t say anything until I knew that I had to leave, and I tried to get out, and he tried to murder me,” Rachel Baskin said through tears Monday during a panel discussion about domestic violence.

In July 2009, Rachel’s husband, Dejon Baskin, shot her in the head and slit her throat, shot her brother in the face, and slit her mother’s throat — they all survived. Dejon was convicted of the crimes in 2012 and received 77 years to life in prison.

Now studying at Fresno State to become a lawyer, Rachel has become an advocate for women affected by domestic violence.

She and local officials, who have worked on domestic violence issues, gathered Monday for a public screening of the HBO documentary “Private Violence” in an effort to better educate the community about the issue.

Rachel, along with Fresno Police Chief Jerry Dyer, District Attorney-elect Lisa Smittcamp and representatives from the Marjaree Mason Center, participated in a panel discussion at North Pointe Community Church sharing insights on their dealings with the crime locally.

The documentary follows a federal domestic violence case in South Carolina and the advocates who support victims of the crime. Dyer said that the issues raised in the documentary are similar to those faced locally.

The Fresno Police Department deals with over 7,000 cases of domestic violence annually.

However, Dyer said, “There are far more cases than that out there. And many of them unfortunately are repeat offenders.”

Part of the problem is that victims of domestic violence are often hesitant to come forward, he said. In Rachel’s case, she feared getting the police involved.

“One of the major issues I faced was the fear,” she said. “The fear of what he will do; the fear of him getting angry or retaliating if anything happened or if anybody knew about it.”

Rachel also dealt with feelings of isolation while having to hide the fact she was being abused.

“I was the one that gave advice to everybody and painted a perfect picture,” she said. “And the picture wasn’t perfect.”

Smittcamp, who prosecuted Rachel’s husband, said she still gets emotional about the case.

“She’s sitting here in front of all of you. She’s somebody who survived a very brutal attack,” Smittcamp said.

In her years prosecuting domestic violence cases, Smittcamp said that every one is different, and for some it can take multiple attempts for victims to finalize a case against their alleged abusers.

“We have to not judge,” she said. “You cannot put your own standards when you haven’t walked a mile in somebody’s shoes.”

She also stressed that the issue affects people across socioeconomic boundaries.

“This is not just a poor person’s problem,” Smittcamp said. “This does not just happen in the ghetto.”

While the panelists said that each case of domestic violence is unique and must be handled accordingly, they advocated getting in touch with the Marjaree Mason Center or Fresno Police Department if people believe they have been subjected to the crime.