Domestic violence has been present for hundreds of years, and although much work has been done to stop normalizing these practices, data reveals that currently, 1 in 3 women and 1 in 6 men in the United States have experienced this abuse at some point in their lives, so it is necessary to evaluate what is happening and the areas in which greater action must be taken.
When speaking out and facing these circumstances, many victims of domestic violence have to leave their homes, so they are faced with a difficult decision: to remain homeless and without anything or to continue enduring a life of violence, said Susan Rubio. during a briefing held by Ethnic Media Services.
Rubio, a senator for the State of California, is a survivor of domestic violence, so she understands and empathizes with the victims from their perspective; that is why it is part of her political mission to work to help victims who end up on the streets due to their economic circumstances.
“This year I have a bill to require judges to consider 15 years back in a domestic violence case, since currently only 5 years back from the date of the complaint are taken into account. However, this bill is on hold until January,” explained the official.
Extending the time to be considered in a case of domestic violence from 5 years to 15 years is important during a process since sometimes the aggressions are not constant but are present.
For her, it is important to work to change the narrative of the victims, in this way giving them hope, strength and support when they need it most, as this way more cases can be prevented and lives that are in danger can be saved.
“I am a well-educated person, with all the necessary skills, and I have everything I need to not be a victim. However, I realized that anyone can be a victim, and it is happening more and more often to professional women who are threatened with being exposed to society,” Susan said.
Tina Swithin, founder of One Mom's Battle (A Mother's Battle) shared her experience as a victim of domestic violence: during her trial she filed a complaint and her partner at the time obtained a restraining order, so she could not approach him, however he ignored this and she was left vulnerable; in this way, Tina realized that she could not only depend on the laws to be safe, so it was a very difficult battle.
Tina has been involved in more cases to help those women who are still in their most vulnerable stage, she has also managed to receive external support from associations and government areas, demonstrating that there is a lot to work on and do.
“Domestic violence is about control and power, the abuser’s need for power doesn’t end when the relationship ends, but the abuse that comes after the relationship ends is much worse than within the relationship,” Swithin said.
Viji Sundaram, a reporter for The Public Press and co-founder of Narika, a nonprofit advocacy group that works with Asian women of Indian descent, shared some of her reporting during a highly sensitive case involving a woman who married a man who made porn films.
On one occasion, the husband asked the woman named Mariam if she could participate in the film and she said no. Although she knew that the situation with her partner was bad, she decided to have a daughter to see if this would improve the relationship. The worst came later, when the man forced her to be part of a film, threatening her that if she did not do it, he would use her daughter for these purposes. That was the last thing that happened, so she ran out of her house to escape.
Her husband filed a complaint against her because she returned to her home country to escape the situation. However, she was the victim, but before the law she was a fugitive, which kept her in constant fear. This is how the woman's family came to Viji Sundaram to ask for his help.
In the end it was proven that she was innocent and that she had no reason to be afraid any longer. Once her trial was over, she was able to start her life again.
Sundaram explained that this woman did not suffer from physical violence as such, but lived in fear and in a dangerous situation, which is why many cases do not proceed, because there is not enough evidence to act and the victims have to endure certain risky situations because they have no way out or support.
Experts agree that much work needs to be done in the legal field, judges do not have complete knowledge and not all of them support and act correctly.
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