The murder of Toney Johnson, recounted on the front page of today’s Salisbury Post, should remind everyone, male and female, that we have yet to overcome one of the oldest maladies of human existence — the brutal dominance that can poison a relationship between a man and a woman, and even lead to death.

We sum it up neatly in the term “domestic violence,” but the words obscure the terror and cruelty that victims like Toney suffer when their partner turns out to have an ugly, destructive side. Clearly Toney feared for her life when ex-husband Rodney Wallace began stalking her every movement. She took out a protective order, did all the things legally she could do except leave town or carry a gun 24/7. But nothing could save her when, in June 2014, Wallace pounced outside her parents’ house and stabbed her to death with a pocketknife. She was 34.

Wallace, 48, will spend the rest of his life behind bars. Toney’s family, including her son, will spend the rest of their lives wondering, what if?

What if Toney had told them the full scope of the abuse and threats she lived under? What if, knowing that, they had helped her move away and hide from Wallace’s rage? Could that have saved Toney, or would he have hunted her down?

By sharing her daughter Toney’s story, Emilia Johnson is taking the first step toward helping others escape Toney’s fate. Her daughter was bright, caring, intelligent and independent. Yet she was blinded by love long enough to enter what became a toxic relationship. Anyone who finds herself or himself in a similar situation should get out as quickly as possible.

The Family Crisis Council is here to help those bearing the physical and emotional scars of abuse find a safe place. The council owns a Women’s Shelter that takes in women and children trying to escape abuse, and it can help men in such situations, too. To find out more or get help, call the agency’s 24-Hour Crisis Line at 704-636-4718.

Telling victims to seek help is not enough. Law enforcement, lawmakers and the community can take other steps:

• Adopt a system to assess the danger in domestic violence and stalking situations — a “lethality screening.”

• Require electronic monitoring for those under orders to stay away in domestic violence cases, funded by fees the offender must pay.

• Launch a public health campaign to teach young people about healthy relationships and how to detect violent tendencies.

• Provide more support for agencies dedicated to fighting domestic violence.

To win support for solutions, advocates must first raise awareness, as Emilia Johnson is doing. Her daughter Toney is gone, but the lessons from her tragic murder remain. “She thought she could save the world with her love,” her mother says. Maybe, if enough people pay attention and act, Toney’s love might yet save lives.