Domestic Violence Headlines for the Week of June 16

This week brought more disturbing news for women’s safety across the U.S.

Domestic Violence Advocacy Groups Are Suing the DOJ

On Monday, the National Women’s Law Center filed a lawsuit on behalf of 17 state organizations that work with domestic violence and sexual assault survivors. The lawsuit is aimed at Attorney General Pam Bondi and the Department of Justice (DOJ) disputing new guidelines that require organizations like theirs that receive federal grants to not promote “gender ideology”; include “illegal” diversity, equity and inclusion programs; or prioritize services for “illegal aliens.” 

Domestic violence organizations nationwide, as well as survivors seeking to escape their abusive partners, are already in fear of ICE (U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement) raiding shelters, once considered protected spaces. The fear is enough to keep some survivors from reaching out for help. 

“We don’t want anyone to question, ‘If I come in there, what’s going to happen?’ We don’t ask whether they’re undocumented and if they bring it up, we still encourage them to come in,” says Jessie Rixie, director of advocacy at One Safe Place, a Family Justice Center in Fort Worth, Texas.

At the same time, statistics show domestic violence is just as likely to occur in same-sex relationships as in heterosexual relationships, which is why LGBTQ+ individuals are just as in need of advocacy as any other group. 

According to the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, two out of every five gay and bisexual men are victims of abusive partners while 50 percent of lesbian women have experienced or will experience domestic violence in their lifetime. Transgender individuals are at the highest risk of violence with more than half, or 54 percent, of transgender and non-binary individuals experiencing intimate partner violence in their lifetimes, according to the Human Rights Campaign. 

The threat of revoking federal funding from these anti-violence organizations comes at the same time as the current administration announced they plan to terminate the national LGBTQ youth suicide hotline next month. 

The advocacy organizations’ lawsuit claims, in part, “Plaintiffs and their members are thus left in an impossible position. If they refrain from applying for OVW grants, they will lose out on funding that is critical to their ability to provide the services they have long promised and offered, that victims and survivors rely on for safety and protection, and that some organizations need to continue operating at all. Yet if they make the required certifications, they will immediately expose their organizations to substantial legal and financial risk, on top of agreeing to statements antithetical to their core values.”

Source: MSNBC.com

Study Shows Abortion Bans Increases Risk of Escalating Intimate Partner Violence

A new study released this week found that in states with a near-total ban, or complete ban of abortion services, women have experienced an increase in abuse from their partners. In 2022, the Supreme Court overturned Roe vs. Wade, ending the constitutional protections for abortion in all 50 states. This means that women who need to access an abortion either can’t receive this healthcare option, or have to travel out of state, an expense many survivors can’t access. As a result, states with abortion bans saw roughly a 7-10 percent increase in intimate partner violence (IPV). If the number of women in danger alone wasn’t disturbing enough, this increase in abuse costs an estimated $1.24 billion in additional social costs, which can include medical expenses, productivity losses at places of employment, mental health services, shelter services and law enforcement expenses, among others.  

A study done by the Obstetrics & Gynecology Journal of the American College of Obstetricians & Gynecologists shows that homicide is a leading cause of death during pregnancy and the postpartum period in the U.S., with the majority perpetrated by a current or former intimate partner. Studies also show that violence can escalate during pregnancy. Many women who are already enduring controlling, coercive or violent abuse by their partner may not feel it’s safe to bring a child into that situation. And many may not have had a choice in getting pregnant. Reproductive coercion is a tactic used by abusers to pressure, coerce, force or threaten their female partners into becoming pregnant or into continuing a pregnancy against their will. 

Abusers may refuse to use condoms, remove an IUD from a partner without her consent, hide or destroy birth control, accuse a partner of infidelity if they want to use contraception, rape a partner in order to force pregnancy, or use threats of violence if the survivor does not become pregnant. After becoming pregnant, an abuser may isolate the survivor and not allow them to seek medical attention. They may threaten them with additional harm to continue the pregnancy. 

Pregnancy is seen by some abusers as an additional way in which to trap a survivor with them and make the survivor dependent on the abuser. Unfortunately, when intimate partner violence is present, an abuser is more likely to ramp up their abusive tactics when their partner is pregnant, leading to an increased risk in miscarriage, premature birth, low birth weight and death of the pregnant individual, not to mention the lasting impact of growing up with an abusive parent, including intergenerational violence.

Source: Time.com

Four Children and Mother Shot by Abuser, Leaving a 4-Year-Old Dead

A tragic story out of Nashville this week: a man shot his girlfriend and four of her five children, killing one and seriously injuring the others. Twenty-six-year-old Jovien Smith of Davenport, Iowa was driving with his girlfriend and her children in a minivan around 10 p.m. on Saturday in Nashville when the two reportedly got into an argument. Smith threw the woman’s cellphone out the window before attempting to grab the steering wheel of the van and crash it. Luckily, the woman was able to stop the van safely on the side of the road.

That’s when Smith pulled out a handgun and opened fire on the woman before turning his gun on the children in the backseat. A 1-year-old boy was shot three times in the stomach and a 7-year-old girl was shot once in the stomach and six times in the legs. They are both in critical condition. A 13-year-old girl was shot in the stomach but is in stable condition. A 4-year-old girl was fatally shot in the neck and back. A fifth child was not shot. The mother was shot three times and is listed in serious condition. She escaped the van and ran for help while a still-armed Smith continued to chase her. Police quickly arrived and arrested Smith who was then charged with criminal homicide, five counts of attempted homicide, three counts of aggravated assault and one count of aggravated burglary. His bond has been set at $2.6 million. 

When an abusive partner has access to a gun, a victim is five times more likely to be killed. According to Everytown.org, an organization that works tirelessly to end gun violence, at least 70 women are shot and killed by an intimate partner every month. Another 4.5 million women in the U.S. have been threatened with gun violence by an intimate partner. Advocacy groups across the country are fighting to keep guns out of the hands of abusers by lobbying for stricter gun control laws and promoting extreme risk protection orders, or ERPOs, which remove guns from individuals thought to be in danger of harming themselves or others. Still, guns and abusers are an incredibly dangerous combination, as survivors like April Ross and Janet Paulsen know, two survivors shot by their abusive partners who told their harrowing tale to DomesticShelters.org in 2022. Read, “Gunned Down: Two DV Survivors Connect Over Shared Violence” to learn their story. 

Source: NewsNationNow.com