Domestic Violence Headlines for the Week of April 28

In this week's news surrounding domestic violence, we're not excited to report that things have, in fact, possibly gotten worse. 

Federal Government Cancels $811 Million in Grants Impacting Domestic Violence Victim Services Across County

Domestic violence victims are on the receiving end of some drastic funding cuts by the federal government, and advocates are worried about what that means for their safety. Some 365 grants totaling $811 million were terminated last week with a focus on victim services that promote diversity, equity and inclusion, as well as refugee resettlement and human trafficking victims. After the grants were cancelled, seven were restored by the Justice Department, including a grant to the National Center for Victims of Crime to fund crime victim hotlines and a grant to the National Network to End Domestic Violence.  

Impacted nonprofits include Clackamas Women’s Services in Oregon that provides emergency shelter, counseling, legal advocacy and Camp HOPE Americae, a summer camp for kids impacted by domestic violence at home. They receive about 73 percent of their funding from the government and are expecting drastic cuts to their budget. Melissa Erlbaum, the center’s director, says she’s not sure what services they’ll be reimbursed for in their next quarter and how that may impact what they do. 

“We know that whenever things like this come up, it can become a tactic for abusers to keep people in an abusive relationship,” Erlbaum tells Oregon Public Broadcasting. “So that fear of ‘nobody’s going to be available when you call or if you leave, they might help you with housing, but look at the funding will be gone tomorrow,’ … can be very concerning.”

 Embrace, a domestic violence shelter that serves rural counties in northwest Wisconsin, has also been impacted. They are scheduled to face a $531,581 cut, representing a third of their budget. As a result, they’ve had to cut sexual assault services for survivors, lay off staff and reduce services to schools.

“There are going to be people out there who die without these services available,” Executive Director Katie Bement told the Wisconsin Examiner.

The Mariposa Center for Safety, Pueblo, Colorado’s only domestic violence shelter, used to receive $65,000 from the city. They will now receive no funding. As a result, Teresa’s Place visitation center will be forced to move into the administration building. The center allows parents who may be going through a difficult divorce to exchange children in a safe, home-like environment, though that will be no longer. 

“It’s so important because kids need to be some place that is warm and inviting and that they feel comfortable in because they’re already going through so much if they’ve experienced or witnessed domestic violence … So, it’s really nice to have a place for kids that’s not just sterile,” says Sandy Morrison, director of development and operations for Mariposa Center for Safety. 

One way to help shelters in your area is to fulfill items from their Wish Lists on DomesticShelters.org. Even the smallest of donations can make the biggest difference to someone escaping an abusive partner. 

Source: Reuters.com

Nebraska Man Beats Girlfriend Again After Serving Prison Time Last Year for the Same Thing

In North Platte, Neb., a 29-year-old abuser was arrested over the weekend and charged with first-degree domestic assault after beating his girlfriend so severely, her eyes were swollen shut. Nathan Creel assaulted Nikki Fitch on Saturday evening. Fitch was taken to the hospital where she is being treated for broken ribs, a punctured lung, fractured facial bones, severe eye damage and a brain bleed. This is Creel’s second arrest for abusing the same woman—he served a 60-day sentence last August for third-degree assault of Fitch. 

Domestic violence is rarely an isolated incident. While sending an abuser to jail will stop his abuse temporarily, research shows that prison time does little to deter perpetrators from abusing again, known as recidivism. Research has found that 15 to 30 percent of perpetrators who have been arrested for domestic violence reabuse a partner within 28 months. While batterer intervention programs and restorative justice can be alternate accountability options for abusive partners, the only thing advocates say that results in long-term change is when abusers take full responsibility for their actions and demonstrate sustained transformation. 

“Abusive behavior is learned. [Abusers] are allowed to do it, and it works, so [they] do it. Those who use forms of controlling behavior can unlearn what they’ve been taught and can learn a different way of being,” says Ed Murcurio-Sakwa, former CEO of Emerge! Center Against Domestic Abuse in Arizona. However, a survey on DomesticShelters.org revealed that the majority of respondents believe once someone’s an abuser, they’re always an abuser.  

A GoFundMe has been set up to help Fitch, a single mom to a teenage daughter, in her recovery. 

Source: 1011 NOW

Woman Stabbed to Death by Ex-Boyfriend Following Him Stalking Her After a Break-Up

Police in Miami, Fla., this past Saturday discovered Maria Camila Garcia-Molina, 24, stabbed to death in her car after finding her young daughter wandering alone with blood on her face and clothes. Garcia-Molina's ex-boyfriend, 29-year-old Joy Chandra Nath, was arrested in connection to the murder. When a neighbor spotted the young girl in the housing complex where she lives, they took her to the girl’s grandmother, who then contacted the sheriff’s office. After not finding the girl’s mother in her apartment, officers searched the area and located Garcia-Molina in her car. She was pronounced dead at the scene. 

Nath and the victim ended their relationship last November and it was discovered that Nath had been stalking Garcia-Molina since, putting an Apple AirTag on her car and showing up to her place of work. Officers spotted Nath in the neighborhood after finding Garcia-Molina’s body. Nath told them he was visiting her to return some of her belongings. Nath was charged with second-degree murder and child abuse.

Sixty-one percent of female stalking victims are stalked by a current or former intimate partner. All too frequently, stalking follows the end of a relationship with an abusive partner. Abusers often become their most threatening when they feel their control slipping away.

While stalking is illegal in all 50 states, statistics show that less than 40 percent of stalking victims report they’re being stalked to law enforcement. Survivors may not know stalking is illegal or may not believe law enforcement will be able to stop their stalker. Survivors may also minimize stalking, thinking the stalker may not follow through on threats. The devastating truth is that, in 85 percent of attempted murders of women, and 75 percent of completed murders of women, there was an episode of stalking in the previous year. 

“Stalking produces a three-fold risk of intimate partner homicide, meaning if a victim of domestic violence is also being stalked they are 300 percent more likely to be killed by that intimate partner,” says Jennifer Landhuis, director of SPARC, the Stalking Prevention, Awareness and Resource Center.

 A GoFundMe has been set up to help with funeral expenses and her daughter’s future needs.  

Source: People.com