VAWA Posts:
Cyberstalking victim aims to help others
Mountain Democrat (Placerville, CA)
January 24, 2014
https://infoweb.newsbank.com/
With January being National Stalking Awareness Month, one El Dorado Hills woman is reaching out to the community to raise awareness on cyberstalking and cyberbullying, and to provide support to victims.
Alexis Moore gave up everything when her ex-husband starting cyberstalking her. Her home, her dog, even her car. She began writing journals, marking every time she was assaulted. Her first journal was dated Nov. 5, 2004.
When she went to law enforcement for help, she was “overly referred,” she said — Department A said to go to Department B, Department B to C, and C back to A. A hotline was “closed due to lack of funding,” though she thought the claim was dubious. “There were no direct support agencies,” she said. There were shelters, but no support units.
The most help she got from law enforcement was a large video camera and an audio recorder from the District Attorney’s Office — not ideal for her situation.
“I reported a minimum of 100 stalking and cyberstalking incidents to the (El Dorado County Sheriff’s Office) and was left behind humiliated, terrified and living in fear right here in El Dorado County,” Moore said.
In 2006, she was told to stop reporting incidents. “Now, I’m really alone,” she recalled feeling.
Her last physical journal was April 14, 2007. She began keeping her journals as Excel spreadsheets and founded Survivors in Action in El Dorado Hills. It began as a virtual agency, with Moore putting up her Excel template for others to keep track of how they were being cyberstalked and cyberbullied — something that would help in court, Moore said. When, what, witnesses, the outcome and phone numbers all had a space to be filled.
With that and other tools on the Website, it’s unlikely that a victim “can’t get to the finish line,” Moore said.
Times have changed with how EDSO works with victims, too. “The Sheriff’s Office today is doing great things compared to when I was a victim. Detective Nolan Tracy, who is lead of the stalking and domestic violence unit,” she said. When Moore was a victim, she had a dozen different officers and deputies who would give her a business card and leave the case at that.
“In fact I have personally worked with (Tracy) and I am very impressed to say the least. When I reported stalking and cyberstalking incidents from Nov. 2004 forward, I was humiliated and even laughed at and told not to report any more incidents,” she said, having to figure out her own “mechanisms for survival.” This was “something that I vowed would not happen to another victim and why when Sheriff D’Agostini took the helm as sheriff I made it my mission to ensure victims of abuse, stalking and cyberstalking had the best response they could from our local department.” A call to the non-emergency hotline went from only getting voicemail to having a specific deputy assigned to a case.
“The sheriff has kept his pledge to help victims and I can attest personally and professionally that the EDSO has responded far better than ever before and that is something that I am absolutely so grateful for because they are the first responder and a victim’s first line of hope and defense,” Moore said. “For high-risk stalking victims this could be a matter of life or death as I know it was for me.”
Tracy noted he and EDSO Crime Analyst Christina Novello give elementary and middle schools presentations on cyberbullying in order to curb the behavior — what cyberbullying is, what works, what does not work and what to do if someone is being cyberbullied. For the cases themselves, “We do work hard on them,” Tracy said.
Now with a book published, “A Parent’s Guide to Cyberstalking,” and her story having aired on “Stalked: Someone’s Watching” in December 2011, Moore has the resources to help other victims, including a second book tentatively set for 2015 and a gala to fundraise for Survivors in Action later this year.
Lori Jackson Domestic Violence Survivor Protection Act - S.2483
S.2483 — 113th Congress (2013-2014)
July 17, 2014 - Introduced in Senate
Summary
Lori Jackson Domestic Violence Survivor Protection Act - Amends federal firearms provisions to expand the definition of: (1) "intimate partner" to include a dating partner or former dating partner; and (2) "misdemeanor crime of domestic violence" to include a misdemeanor offense that has, as an element, the use or attempted use of force, or the threatened use of a deadly weapon, by a dating partner or former dating partner against the victim.
Prohibits the sale or other disposition of a firearm or ammunition to, or the possession or receipt of a firearm by, a person subject to a court order, or an ex parte order, that restrains such person from: (1) harassing, stalking, threatening, or engaging in other conduct that would put an individual in reasonable fear of bodily injury, including an order issued at the request of an employer on behalf of its employee or at the request of an institution of higher education on behalf of its student; or (2) intimidating or dissuading a witness from testifying in court.
SEC. 4. LIST OF PERSONS SUBJECT TO A RESTRAINING OR SIMILAR ORDER PROHIBITED FROM POSSESSING OR RECEIVING A FIREARM EXPANDED.
Section 922(g)(8) of title 18, United States Code, is amended—
(1) in the matter preceding subparagraph (A), by striking “that”;
(2) by striking subparagraphs (A) and (B) and inserting the following:
(A) (ii) in the case of an ex parte order, relating to which notice and opportunity to be heard are provided—
“(B) that restrains such person from—
“(i) harassing, stalking, threatening, or engaging in other conduct that would put an individual in reasonable fear of bodily injury to such individual, including an order that was issued at the request of an employer on behalf of its employee or at the request of an institution of higher education on behalf of its student; or
“(ii) intimidating or dissuading a witness from testifying in court; and”; and
(3) in subparagraph (C)—
(A) by striking “intimate partner or child” each place it appears and inserting “individual described in subparagraph (B)”;
(B) in clause (i), by inserting “that” before “includes”; and
(C) in clause (ii), by inserting “that” before “by its”.
Where are these same legislators and VAWA with speaking out about Officer-Involved Domestic Violence? Why don't they demand 'Zero-Tolerance' in law enforcement?
Female Senators Write Letter to Goodell, Want NFL to Adopt ‘Zero-Tolerance’ Policy
Roll Call
September 11, 2014
A group of 16 female senators, including Maryland Democrat Barbara A. Mikulski, have written a scathing letter to Roger Goodell about the National Football League’s handling of violence against women.
The letter comes after reporting by The Associated Press that the NFL was sent graphic elevator video of now-former Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice knocking out his then-fiancée Janay Rice.
“It is long past time for the NFL to institute a real zero-tolerance policy and send a strong message that the league will not tolerate violence against women by its players, who are role models for children across America,” the 16 senators wrote. “We hope the NFL will seize this opportunity to lead by example and demonstrate its commitment to the safety of women and families.”
In their letter, the senators say Goodell’s recent revisions to the policy regarding suspensions for domestic violence do not go far enough. Goodell is the son of a Republican senator from New York, Charles Goodell, who was appointed to the Senate to fill out the unexpired term of Robert F. Kennedy.
The letter comes as lawmakers are recognizing the 20th anniversary of the landmark Violence Against Women Act.
Other Democrats to sign the letter include: Barbara Boxer of California; Debbie Stabenow of Michigan; Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota; Patty Murray of Washington; Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire; Kirsten Gillibrand of New York; Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota; Dianne Feinstein of California; Mazie Hirono of Hawaii; Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts; Tammy Baldwin of Washington; Kay Hagan of North Carolina and Maria Cantwell of Washington.
Republicans Kelly Ayotte of New Hampshire and Susan Collins of Maine also signed the letter.
The full letter from the 16 female senators appears below:
Dear Commissioner Goodell:
As we mark the 20th anniversary of the Violence Against Women Act, we call on the NFL to institute a real zero-tolerance policy for domestic violence that will ensure that this type of violence and abuse has no place in the NFL.
We were shocked and disgusted by the images we saw this week of one of your players violently assaulting his now-wife and knocking her unconscious, and at new reports that the NFL may have received this video months ago. Tragically, this is not the only case of an NFL player allegedly assaulting a woman even within the last year.
We are deeply concerned that the NFL’s new policy, announced last month, would allow a player to commit a violent act against a woman and return after a short suspension. If you violently assault a woman, you shouldn’t get a second chance to play football in the NFL.
The NFL’s current policy sends a terrible message to players, fans and all Americans that even after committing a horrific act of violence, you can quickly be back on the field.
It is long past time for the NFL to institute a real zero-tolerance policy and send a strong message that the league will not tolerate violence against women by its players, who are role models for children across America. We hope the NFL will seize this opportunity to lead by example and demonstrate its commitment to the safety of women and families.
