The director of a Midlands women’s shelter gave Gov. Mark Sanford high marks for raising the issue of domestic violence in his State of the State address and for challenging men to change the violent climate of South Carolina.

“I was pleased,” said Nancy Barton, executive director of Sistercare, which provides assistance to women and children escaping abusive family situations.

“I give him points for raising this issue to begin with, and I give him points because he did speak to the men.”

Hours before Sanford’s speech, Barton facilitated a regular Wednesday counseling session with female inmates at a state prison.

Although they had no knowledge of the governor’s upcoming remarks, some of the women spoke of the burden that falls on them as they extricate themselves from domestic abuse situations.

“One of the women said, ‘Why is the emphasis always on the women?’ and then someone in the group chimed in and said, ‘Yes, it’s always the women,’” Barton said.

In condemning domestic violence, Sanford asked men to “live up to the gentlemanly tradition of our ancestors.”

“Whether Robert E. Lee or Booker T. Washington,” Sanford said Wednesday, “both were Southern men who passionately believed things, but never reduced those passions down to physical control in the house.”

He asked every man not to use violence in the home. He challenged every man to help South Carolina rise from its “deplorable” status as the state with the highest number of women killed by men.

Sanford recognized legislators, including Rep. Gilda Cobb-Hunter, D-Orangeburg, who worked last year to strengthen domestic violence laws, including designating criminal domestic violence of a high and aggravated nature as a felony instead of a misdemeanor.

Cobb-Hunter said she appreciated Sanford’s mention of the issue. The legislation was an “important first step” in facing the state’s epidemic of violence.

But she also said she was puzzled by Sanford’s reference to the past.

“As a woman of color, I’m very hesitant about embracing gentlemanly traditions of your ancestors, because it depends on what ancestors you’re talking about,” she said.

“There are certain gentlemanly traditions that we don’t want to encourage.”

These include the practice of having sexual relationships with slaves or with hired workers, Cobb-Hunter said.

Sanford said he was referring specifically to Washington and Lee, and their examples as gentlemen. The practice of men in a “dominant social role” taking advantage of powerless women is wrong.

“I think that’s deplorable, period,” Sanford said.

Sanford said he mentioned domestic violence in the State of the State — his most important speech of the year — to highlight its importance.

“You talk to some friends who ask you to raise the issue, and then you highlight it,” he said. “I don’t know how much more constructively we could have laid it out there.”

Reach Click at (803) 786-2285 or cclick@thestate.com. Reach Bauerlein at (803) 771-8485.