Browns Aid Charity Against Spouse Abuse : Awareness: Father of O.J. Simpson’s slain wife makes brief statement before ball for Interval House Crisis Shelters.

Slowly emerging from their seclusion, the family of Nicole Brown Simpson made a brief appearance Saturday night at a charity ball to raise awareness about domestic violence.

“Abused women is something that is a current topic,” said Lou Brown, Nicole Simpson’s father. “And we are here to let you know we believe in it and the family supports it in every way. And that’s all we have to say.”

Brown was flanked by his wife, Judy, daughters Tanya and Dominique and two bodyguards at a black-tie fund raiser for the Interval House Crisis Shelters, which has four facilities in Orange County.

O.J. Simpson’s former father-in-law read his brief statement at a press reception at the Ritz Carlton, then declined to answer questions as the family was escorted to the hotel’s main ballroom.

The annual event, attended by comedian Jo Anne Worley and actress Lee Meriwether, was expected to raise $150,000 for the shelters, which provide emergency housing and counseling for victims of domestic violence.

After calling a press conference at the hotel, shelter officials then asked media representatives to sign a statement promising they would not “barrage” the Brown family with questions about the O.J. Simpson double-murder trial or other personal matters. Robert W. Armstrong, the event’s organizer, said the gala was meant to publicize the crisis of domestic violence, not intrude on the Brown family.

Most media organizations declined to sign the document. “We don’t normally agree to restrictions on our editorial judgments,” said Lynda Armel Nikula, an assignment editor with CNN’s Los Angeles bureau.

However, at least one news organization complied--KTLA news in Los Angeles. KTLA officials would not comment on their decision.

Nicole Brown Simpson’s older sister, Denise Brown, did not attend Saturday night’s charity event, but has spoken several times recently about her interest in helping victims of domestic violence, and about an evolution in her views of her sister’s marriage.

“Now I realize that Nicole was a battered woman, something I never knew before,” Denise Brown said in a recent interview. Soon after her sister’s death June 12, Denise Brown had denied that Nicole was abused by Simpson, despite the release of a dramatic 911 tape in which a frightened Nicole begged police to protect her from her enraged husband.

The change in her thinking, Denise Brown said, came after she and other family members discovered notes among Nicole’s belongings that detailed apparent incidents of abuse. Denise Brown would not elaborate on the contents of the notes, but said they were written by her sister.

“I didn’t even have to talk to her friends,” Denise Brown said. “I read it in her own papers, notes that she kept for herself. . . . You couldn’t help but come to the conclusion that she was a battered woman.”

Denise Brown said the discovery has prompted her to try to educate herself about domestic violence and has sparked her growing interest in helping abused women, in memory of her sister.

“I just didn’t know enough about it before,” she said. “This is going to be my cause in life now, something I do for Nicole and for me. It’s something I’ve just got to do.”

Times staff writer Rebecca Trounson contributed to this story.