Jana's Campaign; Domestic violence is a public crime that demands a public response!" -Curt Brungardt

Note: Cross posted from [wp angelfury] Battered Mothers Rights - A Human Rights Issue.

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http://www.janascampaign.org/

 

"Domestic violence is often a hidden act. Too often it is seen as a private matter between partners. IT IS NOT. Domestic violence is a public issue. Domestic violence is a public crime that demands a public response!"

-Curt Brungardt

Technorati Tags: Domestic,violence,crime,demands,response,partners,Curt,Brungardt

The Time for Action is Now!

According to a recent United Nations report, one in every three women worldwide will directly experience violence in their lifetime. The overwhelming majority of these women will be physically harmed by their intimate partners. In the United States, domestic violence is recognized as the leading cause of injuries experienced by women. And data from the US Department of Justice says on an average, three women every day are killed by their current or former partners. On July 3, 2008, Jana Lynne Mackey, a University of Kansas law student was one of these fatalities.

In honor of Jana, a committed group of advocates have created Jana's Campaign to encourage and promote a public policy response to domestic violence. "We believe it is our responsibility to use the story of Jana's life and the story of her death to help reduce violence against women." Jana's Campaign promotes new and effective legislation and other government action that secures safety and justice for victims of domestic violence. "It is our deep desire to play a significant role in breaking the cycle of domestic violence and be a catalyst for social change."

Public Policy Advocacy

Jana's Campaign is a grassroots, community based advocacy effort developed for the purpose of working in the domestic violence public policy arena. Partnering with other advocates, victims, the criminal justice system and law makers, this campaign encourages the development of effective state and national public policy. The campaign's goal is to move the issues of domestic violence to the top of the political agenda and support legislation that enhances victim's services, prevention and treatment programs, and provides for true accountability and justice. Currently Jana's Campaign is supporting new legislation in Jana's home state of Kansas. To learn more about the proposed Kansas domestic violence legislation click here.

"The actions of government bodies - their laws, practices, regulatory measures, and funding priorities - profoundly affect how women and their families experience life and freedom form domestic violence."

-National Online Resource Center on Violence Against Women

About Jana

Jana Mackey was well-known throughout Kansas for her advocacy for women's rights. She had spent years volunteering to aid victims of sexual assault and domestic violence. She received her bachelor's degree in Women's Studies from KU and was an active participant in KU's Commission on the Status of Women. Jana also served as one of the youngest lobbyists at the Kansas State Capitol for the National Organization for Women.

The most unlikely of domestic violence victims, KU law student Jana Mackey was found dead in her ex-boyfriend's home on July 3, 2008. For more about Jana please visit Jana's story.

Jana's Campaign to stop domestic violence was motivated by, and developed as part of, Jana Mackey's 1100 Torches national campaign. For more information about her legacy see 1100torches.org.

 

Technorati Tags: Domestic,violence,crime,demands,response,Curt,Brungardt,partners,Technorati,Time,Action,lifetime,data,Department,Justice,Jana,Lynne,Mackey,Kansas,student,fatalities,Campaign,policy,life,death,government,victims,role,cycle,catalyst,Public,Advocacy,grassroots,effort,purpose,arena,system,development,goal,agenda,victim,services,prevention,treatment,actions,measures,freedom,National,Online,Resource,Center,Against,Women,About,rights,degree,participant,Commission,Status,State,Capitol,Organization,legacy,Nations,injuries,makers,three,legislationNote: Cross posted from [wp angelfury] Battered Mothers Rights - A Human Rights Issue.

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Understatement: Domestic violence advocate questions Judge's decision in Peoria murder-suicide

Note: Cross posted from (blogger angelzfury) Family Court Crisis-Abusers Getting Custody..!!.

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http://www.azfamily.com/news/Domestic-violence-advocate-questions-Judges-decision-in-Peoria-murder-suicide-65110047.html

Domestic violence advocate questions Judge's decision in Peoria murder-suicide

by Ryan O'Donnell / 3TV

Posted on October 20, 2009 at 8:27 PM

Updated yesterday at 11:00 PM

PEORIA , AZ -- On October 6, 2009 Dawn Axsom and her attorney pleaded with Judge Jose Padilla to allow her to leave Arizona with her two-year-old son, Xavier, but Judge Padilla denied the request.

According to court testimony, Axsom’s estranged husband, 28-year-old Gabriel Schwartz, had been arrested twice for DWI, was unemployed, and had made two failed suicide attempts.  This prompted Axsom to also file for an Order of Protection against Schwartz.

Judge Padilla granted Schwartz visitation rights, requiring a drug & alcohol and mental health evaluation to be completed within 60-days.

Two weeks after that court appearance, Dawn Axom and her mother Linda were found shot to death in their Peoria home, reportedly by Schwartz, who then turned the gun on himself.

Elizabeth Ditlevson, who works for the Arizona Coalition Against Domestic Violence, says it’s not just Judge Padilla, but other family court judges who don't seem to take domestic violence as seriously as they should.

“Some courts are privileging an abusers access to their children over the safety of the victim parent and the child. We think that that is a huge issue and it needs to change” said Ditlevson. 

Technorati Tags: Understatement,Domestic,violence,Judge,decision,Peoria,news,Judges,Ryan,Donnell,October,Dawn,Axsom,attorney,Jose,Padilla,Arizona,Xavier,testimony,husband,Gabriel,Schwartz,Order,Protection,rights,drug,health,evaluation,appearance,Axom,Linda,death,Elizabeth,Ditlevson,Coalition,Against,Some,courts,children,victim,parent,needs,suicideNote: Cross posted from (blogger angelzfury) Family Court Crisis-Abusers Getting Custody..!!.

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State of Kansas Domestic Violence Tag Legislation Introduced By Curt and Christi Brungardt (Jana Mackeys Parents)

Note: Cross posted from [wp ridezstormz] Silent No More!.

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http://www.janascampaign.org/publicpolicy.html

State of Kansas

• Domestic Violence Tag Legislation. Jana's Campaign strongly recommends that Kansas lawmakers pass this important legislation during this upcoming 2010 session. HB2335 is the first comprehensive domestic violence legislation ever proposed in Kansas.

This legislation requires a domestic violence tag to be placed on all legal documents associated with a criminal act that is based on an intimate relationship (where there is a pattern of control or intimidation) thereby holding the offender accountable for committing an act of domestic violence. Having this DV tag is especially important as offenders often repeat their crimes against victims. Therefore, this legislation encourages sanctions be put in place before violence escalates. This bill also requires the courts to order an assessment of the domestic violence offender and recommend interventions and treatments of the offender. Again, the hope is to reduce and eliminate repeat offenses and end the cycle of violence.

click for .pdf flyer
Bill Summary

Click for complete.pdf Bill
Complete Bill

• Kansas Domestic Violence Batterers Intervention Programming. While not in legislative form yet, Jana's Campaign recommends that those in the Kansas criminal justice system promote the development and use of certified batterers intervention programs around the state. We believe this programming is essential in reducing the cycle of domestic violence. For more information see this link.

Technorati Tags: State,Kansas,Domestic,Violence,Legislation,Curt,Christi,Brungardt,Jana,Mackeys,Parents,Campaign,session,documents,relationship,intimidation,offender,victims,courts,assessment,Again,cycle,Bill,Summary,Complete,Batterers,Intervention,justice,system,development,lawmakers,offenders,crimes,interventions,treatments

Technorati Tags: State,Kansas,Domestic,Violence,Legislation,Curt,Christi,Brungardt,Jana,Mackeys,Parents,Campaign,session,documents,relationship,intimidation,offender,victims,courts,assessment,Again,cycle,flyer,Bill,Summary,Click,Complete,Batterers,Intervention,justice,system,development,Technorati,lawmakers,offenders,crimes,interventions,treatmentsNote: Cross posted from [wp ridezstormz] Silent No More!.

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Dance judge says she was abused wife

Note: Cross posted from (blogger angelzfury) Family Court Crisis-Abusers Getting Custody..!!.

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'Dance' judge Murphy says she was abused wife

• LOS ANGELES, California (CNN) -- TV dance judge Mary Murphy said singer Chris Brown's attack on his girlfriend, Rihanna, prompted her to talk publicly about spousal abuse that she says she suffered first as a teenage bride three decades ago.

Mary Murphy says she was abused by her ex-husband during their nine-year marriage.

Murphy -- the vivacious judge on Fox TV's "So You Think You Can Dance" -- told CNN's Larry King that she wants other victims to learn from how she endured, but escaped, domestic violence.

Discovering her talent with dance eventually changed her life and helped her flee the relationship after nine years, she said.

Her ex-husband strongly denied that he ever physically or mentally abused Murphy, whom he married in 1978 soon after they met as teenagers in college.

"I did just tuck it away and just buried it and went on with my life and I thought that, you know, I could leave it there and I wanted to leave it there until my father died a couple years ago," Murphy said.

Discussions with her dying father led to him apologizing for not being "my knight in shining armor" by intervening, she said.

But Murphy said seeing a photo of singer Rihanna's bruised face, taken soon after Brown's admitted attack last February, convinced her to go public with the story.

"I still had no intention to talk to anybody until I saw Rihanna's face and seeing that just brought it all up."

"Abuse, it just survives and thrives in silence," Murphy said.

Murphy tells the magazine about a whirlwind romance that began in 1977 when she was a 19-year-old Ohio State University student -- swept off her feet by an 18-year-old who was "extraordinarily handsome."

She told King that the marriage began "getting out of control" after just three months when her husband's jealously triggered fights.

"It increased until we started to have just horrible fights," she said. "And then at the time, after a fight in which I didn't want to have sex, it just escalated to the point that he literally had to rape me in order for me to have sex."

When a neighbor called police to her home, Murphy said she was too frightened to press charges.

"I looked at him and with the look on his face, I said 'absolutely not' and went back in my room and just laid there and cried," she said.

Murphy said she left her husband several times over the nine-year marriage, but "there weren't the shelters that there are today."

"I did try to leave, and I was having a hard time making it, and he would sweet talk me and I would go back" she said. "It was back and forth, back and forth, back and forth. And I don't feel really proud of that."

Murphy discovered her talent and love of dance several years into the marriage when she took a summer job at a dance studio while her husband was away for several months running the family's business in the Middle East, she said.

"It made me feel beautiful instead of how I was probably really feeling inside, totally ashamed and dirty," she said.

Their marriage ended only after she and her husband renewed their vows in a wedding ceremony in front of his family and friends in Amman, Jordan, in 1985.

She learned he had a girlfriend -- to whom he was engaged -- in the Middle East. It was his infidelity that convinced her to divorce him, she said.

Her former husband -- who spoke to Larry King off the air -- said he was "totally shocked" by Murphy's account of their marriage. "I never harmed her," he said.

"If all of these allegations are true, she could have had me deported," he said. He is not a U.S. citizen.

He questioned if her motivation was "more fame or sympathy."

Still, he said he is "very, very proud" of her.

Murphy told King his response is what she expected.

"I think a lot of men out there, by the way, that when they do get married they feel like this is their right to do whatever they want to do, and it's not," she said. "And I was a scared, frightened person."

Murphy said she is still afraid of her former husband.

"I'm not going to lie to you that he still scares me," she said. "I still live in fear that he will do something to me, that I will go missing."

Fear of not being able to make it on her own still drives her today, she said.

"I put this behind me, went out and worked like I've never worked before," she said. "And I still work today like I could still be homeless."

__._,_.___

Note: Cross posted from (blogger angelzfury) Family Court Crisis-Abusers Getting Custody..!!.

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Arizona Judge Ignores Pleas of Abused Mother, Orders Parental Counseling, and Two Weeks Later Mom is Murdered

Note: Cross posted from [wp angelfury] Battered Mothers Rights - A Human Rights Issue.

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Arizona Judge Ignores Pleas of Abused Mother, Orders Parental Counseling, and Two Weeks Later Mom is Murdered

Filed under: Arizona, Child Abuse, Child Custody, Child Custody Battle, Child Custody Issues, Child Custody Mediation, Child Custody for mothers, Child custody for fathers, Children and Domestic Violence, Corrupt Judges, Corrupt bastards, Dawn Axsom, Domestic Abuse, Domestic Violence, Domestic Violence by Proxy, Family Court Reform, Family Courts, Family Rights,Fathers Rights, Gabriel Schwartz, Getting screwed by the Family Courts, Hate Crimes, Judge Jose Padilla, Legal abuse, Linda Braden, Maricopa County, Murder, Murder - Suicide, Murdered Mothers, Stalking, Violence against women — justice4mothers @ 7:09 pm

There are many mothers murdered anymore these days.  Whole families being wiped out.  I have stopped running many of them, as there are other sites doing so, but the two I read about today just touched me deeply.  I sincerely hope that the judicial system in Arizona fires this judge.  Judges need to realize that an abuser generally will not stop, and will find ways to abuse their victim.  And judges need to accept that, yes, domestic violence is real, and mothers and children are dying every day because of the inaction that courts take against abusers.

Maricopa County, Arizona is rapidly rising to one of the most dangerous places for mothers and children to be when they are involved in the Superior Court System there.

May this dear mother and her mother rest in peace.  From azcentral.com:

Records: Peoria murder-suicide victim sought help from court

Peoria woman later killed in apparent murder-suicide

by Dustin Gardiner – Oct. 20, 2009 12:00 AM
The Arizona Republic

A Peoria mother whose body was found Friday had recently tried to leave Arizona after receiving threats from her apparent slayer, but a judge denied her request, court records show.

Two weeks before she was killed, Dawn Axsom pleaded with Judge Jose Padilla of Maricopa County Superior Court to let her leave Arizona with her son because she feared Gabriel Schwartz, the toddler’s father, would harm her or their boy.

Padilla denied the 26-year-old’s request and ordered the pair to attend parental counseling together.

Axsom’s body was found in her Peoria residence Friday. Police also found the bodies of Schwartz, 28, and Linda Braden, 56, Axsom’s mother.

Schwartz is suspected of shooting and killing both women before turning the gun on himself, Peoria police spokesman Mike Tellef said Monday.

Tellef said the violence likely began in the downstairs kitchen, where Schwartz shot Braden. Then, Schwartz went upstairs, shooting Axsom in the master bathroom and killing himself in a bedroom.

Police discovered the grisly scene at about 10 a.m. Friday after Axsom didn’t show up for work and a friend and the friend’s mother went to the home, located in the 7400 block of West Sierra Street, to check on her.

When the friend knocked on the door, she heard Axsom and Schwartz’s nearly 2-year-old boy crying upstairs.

The woman called police, who arrived and found the child unharmed inside his crib.

“When the officer took the baby outside, he covered (the child’s) eyes so he couldn’t see anything,” Tellef said, recounting the scene.

Friends and co-workers who gathered outside Axsom’s residence Friday said she was having ongoing custody problems with Schwartz and expressed frustration that the court system wouldn’t let her leave Arizona when she knew Schwartz might harm her.

Court records show Padilla granted Axsom a protective order against Schwartz four days before the Oct. 6 hearing where he ordered her to attend parental counseling with him and denied her request to relocate to Maryland with the pair’s son.

Axsom’s son was placed into the custody of state Child Protective Services.

Technorati Tags: Arizona,Judge,Mother,Orders,Parental,Weeks,Later,Child,Abuse,Custody,Battle,Mediation,Children,Domestic,Violence,Corrupt,Judges,Dawn,Axsom,Proxy,Court,Reform,Courts,Rights,Gabriel,Schwartz,Hate,Jose,Padilla,Legal,Linda,Braden,Maricopa,Murder,Suicide,Whole,system,abuser,victim,places,Superior,peace,From,Records,Peoria,woman,Dustin,Gardiner,Republic,threats,slayer,toddler,father,residence,Police,spokesman,Mike,Tellef,bathroom,friend,West,Sierra,Street,door,officer,Friends,workers,problems,frustration,Maryland,Protective,Services,Pleas,fathers,Crimes,women,himself,upstairsNote: Cross posted from [wp angelfury] Battered Mothers Rights - A Human Rights Issue.

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“Help Me…I’m Burning” Says Young Daughter in Emergency Call Where Father Murdered Entire Family

Note: Cross posted from [wp angelfury] Whos Killing Families?.

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“Help Me…I’m Burning” Says Young Daughter in Emergency Call Where Father Murdered Entire Family

Filed under: Arthur McElhill, Bad Dads, Caroline McGovern, Child Custody, Child Custody Battle, Child Custody Issues, Child custody for fathers, Children and Domestic Violence, Children who witness abuse, Children's rights, Corrupt bastards, Divorce, Domestic Abuse, Domestic Violence, Familicide, Family Court Reform, Family Courts, Family Rights, Fathers Rights,Fathers who murder their children, Human Rights, Husbands who murder wives, Lorraine McGovern, Murder, Murder - Suicide, Murdered Mothers, Northern Ireland, Violence against women— justice4mothers @ 5:49 pm

May this dear mother and her children rest in peace.  From 9news:

Burning teen’s emergency call revealed

07:30 AEST Wed Oct 21 2009

By ninemsn staff

Caroline McGovern with another family member.

---

A girl killed alongside six family members in a fire started by her father made a desperate plea to an emergency call operator: “Help me … I’m burning”.

Caroline McGovern, 13, gasped for breath as she pleaded to be rescued from the fire at the family’s home in Omagh, Northern Ireland, in November 2007, a local coroner’s court has heard.

The fire was started by her father, 36-year-old Arthur McElhill, a convicted sex offender who suffered from depression and had attempted suicide on two other occasions, the Daily Mail newspaper reported.

Caroline died alongside her father, mother and the pair’s four other young children after McElhill doused the house in petrol and set in on fire.

The tragedy reportedly happened after Caroline’s mother, 26-year-old Lorraine McGovern, threatened to leave McElhill.

In a taped recording played in court yesterday, Caroline was heard pleading to an emergency call operator while her family cried out in the background.

She screamed “help me” and “I’m burning … run”, before mumbling the only partially audible “he’s k… us”.

A phonetics expert told the court he could not be certain what Caroline was trying to say.

The call lasted for almost six minutes but Caroline only spoke to the operator for about 45 seconds.

Gasping noises heard near the end of the call are believed to be the teenager’s final breaths.

Caroline was found dead still clutching the phone in her hand near the bodies of her siblings Sean, seven, Bellina, four, Clodagh, one, and James, 10 months.

The coroner’s hearing continues.

Technorati Tags: Help,Young,Daughter,Emergency,Call,Where,Father,Entire,Arthur,McElhill,Dads,Caroline,McGovern,Child,Custody,Battle,Children,Domestic,Violence,rights,Corrupt,Divorce,Abuse,Familicide,Court,Reform,Courts,Human,Husbands,Lorraine,Murder,Suicide,Northern,Ireland,peace,From,AEST,member,girl,plea,operator,breath,Omagh,November,offender,depression,Mail,newspaper,petrol,tragedy,background,teenager,Sean,Bellina,Clodagh,James,fathers,members,noises,breaths,coroner,fourNote: Cross posted from [wp angelfury] Whos Killing Families?.

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TOPEKA MARCH AGAINST VIOLENCE AT NOON TODAY CST;Why do the ABUSERS RIGHTS club want silence? uhhh--duuuhhh

Note: Cross posted from [wp angelfury] Crisis in the Family Courts; Our Children are at Risk~!.

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Ok I am set for another contempt but today I have more important things to do like BREAK THE CHAINS OF SILENCE-I WILL NOT SHUT UP, GIVE UP AND I WILL NOT GO AWAY!!

Hoffman Filed another show cause for contempt  SEE BELOW-

http://www.shawneecourt.org/doe/search.jsp?caseNumber=96D+000217&location=

10/16/2009 #88 Motion filed and entered by DONALD R HOFFMAN for HAL RICHARDSON, FOR ORDER TO APPEAR & SHOW CAUSE

10/16/2009 AFFIDAVIT IN SUPPORT OF MOTION FOR ORDER TO APPEAR & SHOW CAUSE FILED

 

Please ALSO GO TO THE LOCAL MEDIA BELOW SIGN IN AND post comment… WE NEED TO SUPPORT THE MEDIA WHEN THEY DO TRY TO SUPPORT THE VICTIMS OF VIOLENCE!!

they COUNT ON US AS WE COUNT ON THEM… LET THEM KNOW THAT YOU APPRECIATE THEM GOING OUT ON A LIMB, BEING THRETENED ETC… FOR EXPOSING THE TRUTH!!

 

http://www.ktka.com/news/2009/oct/20/domestic_violence_rise_shawnee_county/

Domestic violence is on the rise in Shawnee County

video: Story by Jessica Drew (Contact)

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED 02:59 P.M., OCTOBER 20, 2009
UPDATED 05:48 P.M., OCTOBER 20, 2009

 

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wBmHK9-inoI&hl=en&fs=1&]

Download:

For your computer

For your Flash

"I remember curling up in a ball to protect her from the kicks," domestic violence survivor, Claudine Dombrowski, described.

Claudine Dombrowski is a survivor to domestic violence, a cycle she went back to many times. "I had a choice I could see my daughter or I could never see her again. The abuser had complete control, so I got my daughter back and went back to him."

Going back to an abusive relationship is a problem District Attorney Chad Taylor said his office sees quite often. "We see it everyday, and it's just a matter of the psychology of the cycle of abuse," Taylor said.

The number of cases coming across Taylor's desk is growing. "Our year to date projections for 2009 total is going to be an increase of about 80 percent for the domestic battery cases that we filed," Taylor said.

Claudine fights to help women like herself who have fallen in the hands of abuse. "This was the crow bar, and then I was beaten and raped," Dombrowski said.

She said she never reported her beatings until after her daughter was born.

Taylor said it happens often, "It goes from bruises to hospitalization, to like we said this is all about homicide prevention."

Claudine said even if you haven't been a victim, you probably know someone who has and you can help them. "Don't think it's you...get rid of the scarlet letter of shame, it's the most important thing."

Taylor wants to show there's help out there for victims. "Making this a priority and letting people know that this will not be tolerated in our community," Taylor said.

Taylor's office gave us statisitics on Domestic Violence in 2008 the DA's office received 1267 cases, out of those 508 were filed. Starting from January 1st until October 16, 2009 there have been 1347 cases received, and out of those 849 cases have been filed.

One Domestic Battery charges, in 2008 there were 723 received and 246 filed for court. The projections for this year are 784 received and 443 filed, meaning an eighty percent increase on Domestic Battery.

 

 

Every week in the United States...
- Over 200,000 people stay in a domestic violence shelter or transitional housing program
- Over 150,000 people call emergency domestic violence hotlines
- Nearly 60,000 victims of domestic violence request services that domestic violence programs are unable to provide

Every week in Topeka...
- 12 people stay in Topeka's only emergency domestic violence shelter
- 20 people call the YWCA's 24-hour emergency helpline

One week in October...
- Our community stands up, embraces love and stops violence

10.18: Reflection Vigil
5-6pm, Lake Shawnee Botanical Gardens
Each year, Topeka's faith community gathers to begin the week with prayer and reflection. Help bring about a more peaceful world. Those who attend will have an opportunity to share stories and create peace flags to honor survivors.

This day will also be a city-wide Day of Prayer for Peace as faith communities pray for an end to domestic violence in their Sunday services. To participate or learn more, click here.  

10.19: Chalk at the Capitol
5:30-8pm, Kansas Capitol Building South Lawn
Join us for free family fun including carnival games, moonwalks, prizes, art activities and a hot dog dinner! Chalk at the Capitol is a special night for families who want to have fun and start talking about peaceful relationships.

10.20 Sin by Silence Film Screening
7:00-8:30pm at the Topeka and Shawnee County Public Library
From behind prison walls, Sin by Silence reveals the lives of extraordinary women who advocate for a future free from domestic violence. Inside the California Institution for Women, the first inmate-initiated and led group in the US prison system, shatters the misconceptions of domestic violence. Against the system and against the odds, the women of Convicted Women Against Abuse have risen to expose the stigma of domestic violence, reveal the brutal details of violent relationships, explain the lack of options available to women and, most importantly, how domestic violence affects each and every one of us. Please join us for this powerful film. A panel discussion featuring Olivia Klaus, the film's producer / director and Brenda Clubine, founder of CWAA will follow the film. Learn more about the film atwww.sinbysilence.com.

10.21 March and Rally to End Domestic Violence
12-1pm starting at the YWCA of Topeka and ending at the Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas campus
Each year since 1995, Topekans have gathered at this event to make their voices heard. Join your voice with hundreds of concerned community members as we demand an end to domestic violence. The march will begin at the YWCA of Topeka where participants will gather and pick up signs. Marchers will then walk through the heart of downtown Topeka to the Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas campus for a free hot dog lunch, speakers and performances. This year’s speakers include Curt and Christi Brungardt, whose daughter Jana Mackey was murdered by her ex-boyfriend in 2008. Learn more about the Brungardt’s efforts to honor their daughter’s life at www.1100torches.org.

10.21 Relationship Ready!
6-8pm at Royal Valley High School
Parents and teens are realizing it's important to have conversations about healthy dating. It may seem like a challenge, but really it’s a simple as sharing information and values with each other. Relationship Ready will help start the conversation. Parents and/or teens are welcome to attend this event for fun, games, food and great conversations. Participants will rotate between three activities: Dating Dangers Bingo (a chance to identify and talk about dating abuse warning signs and healthy relationships), Risk Reduction Round-Up (learning the best ways to reduce risk for sexual assault) and STI TMI Jeopardy (play in teams to test your knowledge of birth control, sexually transmitted infections and more). Free pizza dinner will be provided. Download a printable flyer for this event

10.22 Speak Up, Speak Out Teen Performance Art Night
6-8pm at The Break Room
Teens showcase their talents in drawing, painting, photography, song, dancing, poetry and more as the speak out against relationship violence. Prizes will be awarded to the top entries in visual and performance art.

10.23 Empowerment Now! Self-Defense Class
12-1pm or 5:30-6:30pm at the YWCA Health Arena
This free self-defense class will help participants learn a few new moves while getting a great workout and building confidence. Attend either convenient session.

10.24 Voices against Violence Featuring Katlyn Conroy
9pm-midnight at Bosco's
Indie, folk and acoustic artist Katlyn Conroy brings melodramatic pop from Lawrence to our fair city. Check out original music from Katlyn and DJ Morris Mars at Boscos during Voices Against Violence. Cover charge is $5 at the door. All proceeds benefit the YWCA Center for Safety and Empowerment (formerly the YWCA Battered Women Task Force) in their efforts to help victims of domestic and sexual violence. Hear Katlyn athttp://www.myspace.com/katlynconroy or Morris at http://www.myspace.com/morrismars

RSVP to these events on
Be ready by ordering your Week Without Violence apparel and accessories today! To shop, click here.
Week Without Violence 2008

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Dr. Amy Castillo, Mother of Murdered Children Speaks

Note: Cross posted from [wp angelfury] A Human Rights Issue-Custodial Justice.

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http://www.myfoxdc.com/dpp/news/local/102009_mother_of_murdered_castillo_children_speaks

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Mother of Murdered Children Speaks

Dr. Amy Castillo shares her grief

Updated: Tuesday, 20 Oct 2009, 6:33 PM EDT
Published : Tuesday, 20 Oct 2009, 5:46 PM EDT

• Sherri Ly
• BY SHERRI LY/myfoxdc

SILVER SPRING, Md. - 

Amy Castillo still remembers seeing her children run out the door to their father, Mark. Six year old Anthony wanted to finish watching a program on television. Austin who was four and Athena her two year old were already outside. She wishes she had grabbed them to stay home. That March day in 2008, he drowned the children in a Baltimore Hotel room.

Today she still has flashbacks. It's as if she's being told again that her children are dead. Mark Castillo pleaded guilty last week and received three life sentences without parole. "He said he's sorry over and over and over. He's written a letter to me," she said.

Some people never get an apology. At least, Castillo said she got that. Her resilience is remarkable as is her faith in God. She says it's gotten her through the past 18 months and allowed her to forgive her husband, although she still cannot understand how he could kill his own children.

She preferred not to know the details of the crime, but learned them anyway.. Police reports, court documents and her husband's confession were accidentally mailed to her.
"The descriptions of them, how they suffered, the look on Anthony's face. One paper said about how he looked at his father and knew something was wrong and how they struggled," Castillo recalls reading.

Today would have been Austin's sixth birthday. Castillo plans to look at pictures of him as she does on every birthday and mourn the loss of her child. The holidays and birthdays are the worst.

The children's' rooms are still decorated, although she has begun to give some clothes away. She has packed away some favorite clothes and toys to remember them but it's still too painful to look at them. In her grief, she tries to remember the good times.

Anthony she recalled, "He was a very loving person. He really loved his mother," and Austin, "Austin was a wild thing like his father." With Athena, she says "I loved dressing her up like a little doll."

Castillo and her husband were separated at the time. Castillo had been granted emergency custody because of her husband's history of mental illness. The Silver Spring mom fought in court to keep her husband away from the children, believing he could be a danger, but he was allowed visits. "This time, I didn't sense anything was wrong," Castillo said. So she let the children go.

Hours later when Mark Castillo never showed up, she called police over and over but no one knew where to find them.

Later police would take her to Baltimore and tell her three children were dead and they believe her husband did it. She says it was one of the worst moments of her life. The worst moment she says was months later, when the reality sank in. "The shock wears off and it really starts hitting you that you're never going to see your children again."

Castillo's divorce went through in December. Before the crime though, she says she still hoped her husband would get help and they could save their marriage. "When I got married, I thought 'I'm so happy. I don't have to date anymore. I've found the man I'm going to be with the rest of my life," she said.

When she lost her children, Castillo contemplated suicide. "I thought about it. I thought I just don't know how I can make it without my children," she said. Then while on a mountaintop in China, in the middle of a monsoon, she had an epiphany. She said she did not want to go to heaven that way and found peace knowing she would see her children there one day.

Her faith in God gave Castillo strength to go on and she knew her children also shared her faith. "The boys had a conversation about a week before they died. One said when I die I'm going to heaven to be with Jesus."

About a year ago, Castillo spoke with her husband by phone and exchanged letters. She asked him why he did it, but Mark Castillo would not answer until after the trial. She says he wrote a letter explaining everything and told her where to find it if anything happened. Now she's waiting for that explanation but says "I don't know that the answer is there."

Castillo hopes to get married again. She can't have more children but would like to adopt. "I just can't picture myself growing old without a family," she says.

Technorati Tags: Castillo,Mother,Children,news,ExternalVideo,grief,Sherri,SILVER,door,father,Mark,Anthony,television,Austin,Athena,wishes,March,Hotel,room,life,letter,Some,apology,resilience,faith,husband,crime,Police,reports,documents,confession,descriptions,paper,plans,pictures,rooms,times,person,doll,emergency,custody,history,danger,Hours,Later,moment,December,marriage,mountaintop,China,monsoon,heaven,peace,strength,conversation,Jesus,About,explanation,moments,myfoxdc,week,three,monthsNote: Cross posted from [wp angelfury] A Human Rights Issue-Custodial Justice.

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Domestic Violence Is On The Rise in Shawnee County; District Attorney and Survivor Claudine Dombrowski Speak Openly

Please sign in and leave a comment let Chad Taylor the DA know that you support him and demand safety for your wives your daughters nieces and sisters.. thank you. Claudine Dombrowski

MORE: http://bit.ly/U997l

www.AngelFury.org

 

Domestic violence is on the rise in Shawnee County

http://www.ktka.com/news/2009/oct/20/domestic_violence_rise_shawnee_county/

 

Story by Jessica Drew (Contact)

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED 02:59 P.M., OCTOBER 20, 2009
UPDATED 05:48 P.M., OCTOBER 20, 2009

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"I remember curling up in a ball to protect her from the kicks," domestic violence survivor, Claudine Dombrowski, described.

Claudine Dombrowski is a survivor to domestic violence, a cycle she went back to many times. "I had a choice I could see my daughter or I could never see her again. The abuser had complete control, so I got my daughter back and went back to him."

Going back to an abusive relationship is a problem District Attorney Chad Taylor said his office sees quite often. "We see it everyday, and it's just a matter of the psychology of the cycle of abuse," Taylor said.

The number of cases coming across Taylor's desk is growing. "Our year to date projections for 2009 total is going to be an increase of about 80 percent for the domestic battery cases that we filed," Taylor said.

Claudine fights to help women like herself who have fallen in the hands of abuse. "This was the crow bar, and then I was beaten and raped," Dombrowski said.

She said she never reported her beatings until after her daughter was born.

Taylor said it happens often, "It goes from bruises to hospitalization, to like we said this is all about homicide prevention."

Claudine said even if you haven't been a victim, you probably know someone who has and you can help them. "Don't think it's you...get rid of the scarlet letter of shame, it's the most important thing."

Taylor wants to show there's help out there for victims. "Making this a priority and letting people know that this will not be tolerated in our community," Taylor said.

Taylor's office gave us statisitics on Domestic Violence in 2008 the DA's office received 1267 cases, out of those 508 were filed. Starting from January 1st until October 16, 2009 there have been 1347 cases received, and out of those 849 cases have been filed.

One Domestic Battery charges, in 2008 there were 723 received and 246 filed for court. The projections for this year are 784 received and 443 filed, meaning an eighty percent increase on Domestic Battery.

Comments

Note: ktka.com does not necessarily condone the comments here, nor vouch for the factual claims made therein. Nor do we review every post.

Oct. 20, 2009 at 4:44 p.m. (Suggest removal)candd66604 (anonymous)

When families are struggling with bills and employment or lack of it the stress levels go over the top. The news of the rise in cases doesnt surprise me tho it does sadden me.

Oct. 20, 2009 at 6:56 p.m. (Suggest removal)aj92 (anonymous)

I saw the Domestic Violence Video. An I was just wondering how do you know that Claudine Dombrowski is telling the truth? I've seen countless articles about an "abused" victim who are just making it up to get back at that person for a unknown reason. And these people, like Claudine, don't realize by going on tv how much it hurts and embarrasses the chlidren that are brought up in thr interveiw. I have seen, Claudine, on the internet before with pictures of her daughter (and a different story every time), and I feel for her daughter, because I know how embarrassing and how much it can hurt. I can only imagine how it must feel, having a "mother" on tv and plastered all over the internet, about her "abusive" father. I wish Claudine would understand this and stop hurtting her daughter this way.
Now, I'm not saying that there aren't people out there that are really abused, but I think you need to know if its true or not. Before you go and interveiw them and air it.

Oct. 20, 2009 at 7:50 p.m. (Suggest removal)alexisamoore (anonymous)

It is great to see DA Chad Taylor and a victim speak out during domestic violence awareness month. Sadly millions of victims continue to lose their lives each year and fall through the cracks of resources. Bravo to Claudine for being brave and for speaking out and kudos to DA Taylor for making domestic violence a priority in his office.

If you are a victim of domestic violence, stalking, cyberstalking or identity theft as abuse be sure to visit www.SurvivorsInAction.com "No Victim Left Behind"

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