March 5, 2010  Yuma, AZ — A few yes or no questions can help save the life of a domestic violence victim.  The questionnaires are called lethality assessments, and researchers at Johns Hopkins University have just approved new version to help first responders identify the level of risk for every domestic violence victim.

Amberly’s Place Executive Director Diane Umphress says her agency has been using a similar form for years.  She says marking a simple check-box can change the way a victim views her situation.

“So by looking at how many boxes are checked hopefully that’s a tool for them to see wait a minute things have really got a lot further out of hand,” says Umphress.

Kswt.com

Travis County Sheriff Greg Hamilton is asking women to donate their old handbags to help victims of domestic violence.

His office is teaming up with the Texas Advocacy Project for a campaign called Handbags for Hope.

Organizers collect purses and distribute them on Mother’s Day.

Each bag includes a packet with pamphlets and phone numbers for agencies they may need.

If you have old purse you can donate, drop it off at the sheriff’s office at 5555 Airport Boulevard.

Kvue.com

ALBUQUERQUE (KRQE) – The connection between domestic violence and animal abuse is a big, ongoing problem in New Mexico, and a number of different groups are trying desperately to call attention to it.

Many people refer to it as “The Link.”

“It’s been a recognized phenomenon for hundreds of years, but we still have a lot of folks that don’t know about it,” said Tammy Fiebelkorn, a volunteer with the annual governor’s conference focused on the phenomenon.

Numerous studies show domestic violence offenders often use violence against animals as a way to torture their human victims while asserting power and control.

Between 50 and 71 percent of women seeking shelter from domestic violence reported their abuser had hurt or killed at least one family pet.

Krqe.com

By Hanna Roos

Thousands of women sit in prison because they fought back against an abusive person in their lives, but they don’t always get to share their stories in court, said panelists Feb. 24 at the Cornell Law School.

“Physical, sexual and psychological violence are fundamental, underlying reasons for women’s incarceration,” said panelist Tamar Kraft-Stolar, director of the Women in Prison Project at the Correctional Association of New York, a nonprofit criminal justice policy advocacy organization, speaking at the event “Barriers to Justice Faced by Domestic Violence Survivors as Criminal Defendants and Incarcerated Women.”

news.cornell.edu

by Kevin Reece / 11 News

HOUSTON – Teenagers are armed with a new generation of high-technology stalking tools, according to The Houston Area Women’s Center, a non-profit organization dedicated to educating the public about the dangers of domestic violence and helping domestic violence victims.

Earlier this month, Spring Woods High School theatre arts students role played several domestic violence scenarios in front of an audience of their peers as part of Teen Dating Violence Awareness and Prevention Month.

“It’s happening every day and it could be happening to your best friend,” said student Caleb Duncan.” And if you see it happening you have to stop it.”

Khou.com

TYLER, TX (KLTV) – A Tyler non-profit agency is getting some help to promote its message from a man you probably watched in a pretty big game earlier this month.

Cody Glenn plays linebacker for the Indianapolis Colts, and is a native East Texan, raised in Rusk. His grandmother and aunt both died because of domestic violence. Now, he is joining with the group Sisters in Christ to help victims realize that they will only hurt themselves if they do not bring the problem out in the open.

“A lot of women that let it happen, they’re embarrassed of it,” said Glenn. “They know they shouldn’t be in the relationship they’re in, but they stay in it for other reasons. A lot of times they’re embarrassed, and they won’t say anything to their families, so it goes on until it gets worse and worse.”

By Judith Spitzer
WeNews correspondent

FBI statistics show violent crime retreating, but it’s impossible to say exactly what’s going on with domestic violence deaths because total numbers are not tracked. Calls to state anti-violence coalitions, however, suggest this crime is bucking the trend and getting worse.

PORTLAND, Ore. (WOMENSENEWS)–The homicide patterns of this city appear to be mirroring a national trend.

Here, the Oregonian newspaper reported recently that homicides in 2009 declined to the lowest level–21–in almost 40 years, according to preliminary FBI reports.

That stands in shocking contrast to a recent spate of domestic violence that between Nov. 5 and Dec. 2, 2009, claimed 18 lives in Portland. Eight male suspects committed suicide; seven women died in homicides; two young children were shot along side their mothers; and an adult son died trying unsuccessfully to protect his mother. In every case, the murder weapon was a gun.

Like Portland, many cities are proudly announcing falling crime rates. So are states.

Womensenews.org

By Anna Russo
Daily Texan Columnist

Look around. Can you see three people? It’s likely that one of those three people has been a victim of dating violence. According to the Texas Advocacy Project, nearly one in three teens have experienced the most serious forms of dating violence and abuse, including sexual abuse, physical abuse or threats of physical harm to a partner or self.

The organization also reports  more than 200,000 children and 10,000 adults are raped every year in Texas. According to the UT counseling program Voices Against Violence, about 875 of the rape cases in Texas occur at UT — and that’s a measure of only those that are reported.

The most important issue at UT is not tuition increases or budget cuts or even the closing of the Cactus Cafe, but rather the 875 cases of rape reported annually at the University and the presumably higher amounts of dating violence. In an effort to end violence against women and men at UT, 25 women will participate in the Women’s Resource Agency’s annual production of Eve Ensler’s “The Vagina Monologues” next week.

Dailytexanonline.com