In 2008, there were 45,877 reported incidents of domestic violence in Queens, according to the Mayor’s Office to Combat Domestic Violence. Since the office was created in 2002, says representative Ruth Villalonga, the reported incidences of domestic violence in the borough has been reduced from 50,593. She and other experts agree that the way to combat the cycle of violence, a pattern based on power and control between intimate partners, is for victims to come forward. “The best thing victims of domestic abuse can do is to call our hotline, 1-800-621-HOPE” (4673) Villalonga said.
The hotline, which is operated by Safe Horizon but sponsored by the Mayor’s Office to Combat Domestic Violence, is part of a larger network of domestic violence service providers in the city. Many of the organizations, including Sanctuary for Families and Safe Horizon, serving Queens victims, are centralized at the recently opened Queens Family Justice Center located in Kew Gardens.
The Queens Family Justice Center, as well as the Brooklyn Family Justice Center and the soon-to-be-opened Bronx Family Justice Center, is part of the mayor’s public private Family Justice Initiative. The program allows victims to meet with a prosecutor, speak with a trained counselor and apply for housing and financial assistance in just one visit — all in their native language while their children play safely in the next room.
Often, domestic violence victims don’t know about the national, state and city laws that protect them, once they leave an abusive situation. They may fear abusers’ physical and financial retaliation. The National Network to End Domestic Violence says that 51 percent of survivors have no access to credit cards and 27 percent have no access to cash. They also are afraid of losing child custody and that prosecuting offenders might jeopardize or expose their immigration status.
Immigration fears are acutely felt among domestic violence victims in Queens, where half of the borough’s population is foreign born. Villalonga reports that of the victims who have sought help at the Queens family Justice Center, 70 percent are foreign born. Like Ynoscencia discovered, Cohn explains that for the victims of domestic violence, “There is a great opportunity for women who come to the U.S. to find more freedom and dignity than they found at home.”
Julie Dinnerstein, a lawyer for Sanctuary for Families who works at the Queens Family Justice center agrees. “Many of my clients have told me, ‘In my country, there is no protection.’ But when they come here, they see that it is different — that domestic violence is absolutely unacceptable,” she said.
One piece of legislation passed in 2003 that protects immigrants is NYC Executive Order 41. This order prevents authorities from asking victims and witnesses about their immigration status. Another law, passed in 2000 at the federal level, offers a visa to illegal immigrants who have suffered “substantial harm” due to domestic violence crimes. The non-resident visa, “U Visa” provides asylum for victims to live and work in the U.S. for four years and then apply for a green card. Ynoscencia, says Cohn, is currently living legally in the US on a U Visa, while her abuser is in jail for an extended sentence.
While abusers tend to strike their partners in places on the body that can be covered by clothing, there are some bruises that can’t be hidden. Children who witness domestic violence incur lasting emotional and psychological damage. And the Department of Justice has found that more than half of female domestic violence victims live in households with children under the age of 12. Services are available to help the children of abused women as well.
Experts agree that the cycle of violence — tension building, abusive violence and honeymoon — often ends with the abuser begging for forgiveness and promising to change. However, that period is actually one of the the most vulnerable times for victims, according to the Department of Justice: two-thirds of re-assaults occur within the first 6 months.
Law enforcement, more than faith that an abuser can change, is the best way to combat domestic violence. “Strong enforcement brings down the incidences,” says Dinnerstein, who has been with Sanctuary for Families since 1999.
The National Coalition Against Domestic Violence suggests that women have a plan before they leave. Prepare an exit strategy, carry cash and know a safe phone line to call 1- 800-621-HOPE (4673). If you are in immediate danger, call 911.
Many organizations are there to help women who are abused
Queens Borough President Helen Marshall’s office provides a comprehensive list of groups that provide a variety of services to battered women on its website,
queensbp.org. To go right to the section on domestic violence, enter queensbp.org/content_web/Health_Human/health_details.shtml#violencedetails.
Just some of the groups that are there for women in need are the Allen Women’s Resource Center in Jamaica, (718) 739-6200; Elmhurst Hospital Center Crisis Center in Elmhurst, (718) 334-2669 or 334-2650; and Main Street Legal Services’ Battered Women’s Rights Clinic at the City University of New York Law School, located at Queens College in Flushing, (718) 340-4300.
Por mujeres que hablan el Espanol
La violencia doméstica ocurre en todos los pa’ses en las familias de todas las razas, culturas, religiones y niveles de ingresos. No importa cuál sea su estatus migratorio, si alguien está abusando de usted, hay ayuda disponible. Segun La Orden Ejecutiva 41, las autoridades no pueden preguntar sobre el estatus migratorio de las v’ctimas de delitos ni los testigos.
V’ctimas de la violencia doméstica puede tener acceso a la vivienda de emergencia de la violencia doméstica en contacto con el sistema 311 o de 24 horas, todos los idiomas, gratis la ciudad de Nueva York a Domestic Violence Hotline 1-800-621-HOPE (4673).
|
|
