Domestic Violence Seminar Empowers Community to Get Help
Judges, lawyers, law enforcement officers, shelter workers and survivors gather to provide information and help.
Photos
Legal aid, domestic counseling and protective shelters for victims of domestic violence were topics discussed at the Domstic Violence Information and Resources Workshop at the Community Center in Mountain View last week.
The Domestic Violence Workshop arose from a need demonstrated by the more than 5,000 people who called for help with domestice violence cases in Santa Clara County in 2009, nine of which resulted in death.
Co-sponsored by Santa Clara County Supervisor Liz Kniss, Mountain View's Human Relations Commission and the Domestic Violence Information and Resource Collaborative, the workshop brought together representatives from institutions such as Bay Area Legal Aid and the county sheriff's office, which set up information tables.
Survivors of severe domestic violence cases spoke anonymously, empowering others with their stories and reminding county officials of why organizations that support victims of domestic violence are needed.
A panel of Superior Court judges, lawyers, parole officers and women's shelter representatives provided valuable information about legal proceedings in domestic violence cases. Audience members could ask general questions anonymously using written notes.
Some of the concerns included what emergency measures should be taken when domestic violence victims fear for their safety. Learning self-defense was raised as a primary source of instinctual protection, but audience members expressed fear about how the evidence in a domestic violence case could work against them.
"In a case of self defense that has caused both parties to sustain injuries, we look at factors of probable cause," said James Gibbons-Shapiro from the Santa Clara County district attorney's office. "We have to convince 12 strangers of the guilty party beyond reasonable doubt."
Reporting incidents of domestic violence and obtaining restraining orders is a sensitive issue for many victims. The abuser is commonly a domestic partner or close family member. The victim may be dependent on the person and feel compelled to protect the abuser from legal repercussions.
"Santa Clara County has a death review committee that has met annually for the past 15 years," said Gibbons-Shapiro. "Out of the 215 reviewed deaths resulting from domestic violence cases, none of the people killed over the past 15 years issued restraining orders."
While a piece of paper that requires the abuser to stay away from the victim does little to make the victim feel protected, sometimes the reality that a legal document brings to a heated situation can offer protection. The evidence of filing a restraining order can add supplemental evidence to future court cases.
Superior Court Judge Dan Nishigaya explained the different types of restraining orders available, depending on the situation. Victims can file for a short-term restraining order, which gives the filer a week to decide which longterm restraining order is appropriate, he said.
"What victims usually want is for the violence to stop, and they request what is called a 'no-harassment order,'" said Superior Court Judge Sharon Chatman. "I prefer the term 'peaceful contact order,' because what it means is that you can't harass, you can't stalk and you can't physically strike the victim."
Organizations and women's shelters are available for women who need assistance with making informed decisions and processing paperwork. Interpreters are available for people with language barriers, and organizations are dedicated to empowering women by teaching them to be independent of their abusers.
"Our organization exists to fill the service gaps that the system does not provide," said Alice Sailee from The Asian Women's Home. "We have a shelter with 12 beds, a 24-hour hotline and service employees who will go out with victims and teach them their bus route, help them learn English if needed and help them become financially independent by finding jobs."
Organizations that cater to Hispanic and Southeast Asian women are also available, all working to help domestic violence victim achieve independence.
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Mountain View Community Center Building
S Rengstorff Ave & Central Expy, Mountain View, CA
Ray2447
8:21 pm on Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Where about men who are victims of women's domestic violence? Credible research overwhelmingly shows that the ratio of d.v. is at least 50/50 between women & men. http://tinyurl.com/3sakk According to one study by researchers who work at the CDC, in 70% of domestic violence incidents, where the domestic violence is not mutual, it's women who initiate the domestic violence. http://tinyurl.com/yzm9xhe The taxpayer funded domestic violence industry has largely mischaracterized the true nature of d.v. from the beginning and continues to mislead the public. D.V. law follows a gender feminist agenda/ideology over facts in evidence and does great harm to many innocent men (and also many battering women who need help) as shown in "Los Misandry" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SAmOxvudpF8
Claudia Cruz
11:59 am on Thursday, October 28, 2010
I agree that men are and can be victims of domestic violence. In DV cases men don't often know what to do because they can't defend themselves, not only because the authorities won't believe it was self-defense, but because many men won't ever hit a woman. Further, men don't often come forward because then it would make them look weak ("Look! He got hit by a girl!"). Violence of all type should be eliminated.
Ray2447
8:30 pm on Wednesday, October 27, 2010
V.P. Biden recently called violence against women, "the very worst abuse." The very worst abuse is valuing one life less than another for having been born the wrong sex. Under Biden's Violence Against Women Act the wrong sex is men. Shelter and services are virtually non-existent for male victims of domestic violence so those options out of a bad relationship, that are routinely available to women, are very often not available to men. Men wind up gender profiled and often falsely accused by the taxpayer funded, d.v. industry, because of gender feminist ideology controlling the d.v. industry. Men are often battered by domestic violence, and then battered again by the taxpayer funded, domestic violence industry as shown in "Los Misandry," at Youtube.
Jatinder Sandhu
4:26 pm on Thursday, October 28, 2010
You bring up a very interesting point, Ray. One of the women who spoke out about her personal experiences with domestic violence talked about how she was battered and abused all her life, and was one day shocked to find herself incarcerated for assaulting her significant other. To the trained eye in civil and domestic violence cases, the roles in an abuser-victim relationship are not constrained to gender divides, but exist in a vicious cycle that perpetuates itself. The statistics of domestic violence in heterosexual couple is the same as homosexual couples. According to LGBTQ, 1 in 4 lesbians and 1 in 4 gay men have experienced domestic violence in their same gender relationships. It’s a sad reality, and the system attempts to address it by mandating parenting classes and anger-management groups for those convicted of d.v crimes. Being a victim is humiliating regardless of age or gender, and one of the most challenging obstacles is to find the courage to report these isolated incidences. It is unwarranted to say that men are “often falsely accused” by the d.v industry, because it is the police and the evidence brought forward from their investigations that make these decisions. Representatives from the County Sheriff’s Office were present at the domestic violence workshop and they described how evaluating a crime scene helped them determine if the accused was just using self-defense, or if the wreckage at a scene suggests that he or she lost his or her temper.
Ray2447
8:33 pm on Wednesday, October 27, 2010
What about the children? They are the ones least empowered to defend themselves. According to the U.S. Dept of Health and Human Services and DOJ statistics, more kids are killed by neglect and abuse in a year (1,760 in 2007), than all the female intimate partner homicides in a year. Mothers are the single largest group of kid killers, according to HHS and they have a rate twice that of fathers. Nowhere near the money is spent to protect kids from kid killing mothers as is spent by the domestic violence industry to protect women. A lot of innocent men are witch-hunted by the corrupt, gender feminist influenced, taxpayer funded, domestic violence industry. Involving the corrupt d.v. industry in an attempt to prevent abusive and neglectful deaths of children is a big mistake. No place better exemplifies the corruption of the taxpayer funded, domestic violence industry than "Los Misandry." http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SAmOxvudpF8
Earl Richards
2:43 am on Thursday, October 28, 2010
Governor Schwarzenegger has to be commended for making a very wise, sound decision in restoring funding for battered women shelters. Without a shelter for a battered woman to go to, she could be killed or severely beaten. This is a very important point that Governor Schwarzenegger recognized. Most men are bigger than women. This is a reverse decision for Governor Schwarzenegger and this decision shows that the Governor has a flexible mind to do what is right. Well done! Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger! You have saved the lives of many battered women. If any husband has plans to kill his wife, beware, the "Terminator will be back."
Claudia Cruz
4:31 pm on Thursday, October 28, 2010
Jatinder, I'm glad you raised the LGBTQ component too. That's often overlooked too.
Linda Stubbs
2:09 pm on Thursday, January 13, 2011
When will this type of conference/event happen again & where?