IMMIGRANT VICTIMS HAVE OPTIONS
The decision to escape violence in the home is one that is almost impossible to make alone. It obviously involves major effort from victims, but it also may involve non-profit advocate groups, social service agencies, and law enforcement. The process that helps victims escape their abusers can be difficult and can be more complicated when the victim is an immigrant or a non-English speaker. A victim may be afraid to ask for legal assistance because she doesn’t speak English or doesn’t speak English well enough. She may also be afraid that she will be deported. Additionally, immigrant victims of domestic violence may believe that they don’t have the same rights or legal protections than their abusers.
EVERY person that needs help from Next Door Solutions can get help, regardless of immigration status. Immigration status is not reported to any other office and a client’s safety, privacy and confidentiality is the most important part of receiving services. ALL victims of domestic violence, including undocumented immigrants have legal rights, legal options and a means to escape their abuser without the risk of deportation or losing their children. One such option is the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), which was passed by the United States Congress in 1994. Under the Violence Against Women Act, non-citizens who are married to or who have, within the previous 2 years, divorced U.S. citizens or legal permanent residents can petition to obtain legal permanent residence. So, instead of a victim depending on an abusive partner for immigration status, a victim can apply for residency in a confidential statement without the approval or knowledge of their spouse.
If a victim’s abuser is not a U.S. citizen or a legal permanent resident, she may not use VAWA to gain residency, but can apply for a U-Visa or a U-Non Immigrant Status. A U-Visa provides legal immigration status to non-citizens who are willing to assist police in the investigation of the crimes against them. To apply for a U-Visa, a victim’s abuser doesn’t need to be a U.S. citizen or even a lawful resident, and the victim does not have to be married to the abuser. The only requirement of the U-Visa is that the violent crime must be reported to the police and applicants must be willing to assist officials in the investigation and prosecution of the crime.
For every case of partner abuse and domestic violence, there usually is a pattern of control placed on the victim to prevent her from leaving. Whether it is financial, emotional, or physical, abusers find many ways to trick their partners into staying. Leaving an abusive partner is difficult enough under such circumstances, but immigrant victims have the added threat of deportation and the loss of their children as well. However, by providing immigrant victims with information about their rights and their legal options, we can give them alternatives to violence, abuse, and torment.
A Family’s Agony
January 28, 2010
Last week, Bulos (Paul) Zumont pled not guilty to charges of first degree murder and arson in the murder of Jennifer Schipsi in mid October 2009. A probation violation charge will be added later. His probation stems from an earlier conviction on domestic violence. Next Door Solutions to Domestic Violence provided services to Jennifer and grieve the loss of her life.
In an effort to support Jennifer’s family, our staff and volunteers attend criminal hearings in this matter. My personal attendance has given me an intimate view of the grief experienced by a family that has lost a loved one to domestic violence. Often in reading the newspaper about violent deaths, I feel empathy but I go about my business of living, with all the messes and joy life can bring. This time is different. I am witnessing the effects of murder.
The criminal justice system is cold and harsh at best. Comfort for families of murder victims is not the first priority. Their job is to get to the truth, which often brings ugly revelations. The prosecutor in this case, Charles Gillingham is top notch. He is professional and forthcoming. You sense that he knows what he is doing. Unfortunately, what he has to report is gruesome. He cannot sugarcoat the truth.
But another truth exists. This family is in agony. They look like lost souls not knowing what will happen next to exacerbate their grief. For the family of a murder victim new, fresh pain comes constantly. It must be unbearable. As I watch the prosecutor discuss aspects of the case, I see the pins family members wear. Jennifer’s smiling face on the pin reminds us that she was not just a murder victim; she was a vibrant, loving and giving person. The juxtaposition of hearing the grotesque details of her death while looking at the face on the pin is heart wrenching. Watching the expressions on the faces of family members provide the missing link.
If Zumont is found guilty of murder, another charge should be added to the list of charges against him – theft. When Paul Zumont killed Jennifer, he stole a piece of her mother, father, aunts and uncles. He stole a piece from friends and he stole a piece from our community. No one will be the same, certainly not the family nor friends or even those of us who provide services to victims of domestic violence and their children.
This trial will expose the devastation of domestic violence. Unfortunately, it won’t be unusual to us. We see it day after day at Next Door. Now the community needs to see it as well. We made a commitment to raise the shades in homes where domestic violence wreaks havoc on people. We cannot go back and roll them down. Bringing light to the issue, as difficult as it is, sanitizes the space. Light helps us to assess the damage and correct it. Ultimately, we will be a better community for it.
We need your help to bring the light to this case. We want to pack the courtroom in honor of Jennifer, bear witness to her life and demonstrate support for the family. We cannot do this alone. Please email me at kkrenek@nextdoor.org if you can help.
Another Tragedy Strikes our Community
I was horrified when I opened this morning’s newspaper to find another victim of domestic violence murdered. In this case, Bulos “Paul” Zumot was arrested for the murder of Jennifer Schipsi in Palo Alto. When I learned the deceased secured services from our agency, it became even more personal. We at Next Door Solutions to Domestic Violence are grieving her loss. From what I can piece together by reading news articles, a few thoughts come to mind.
To refer to the killing as an “act of passion” defies logic. Passion is defined as “warm and excited feeling likely to be fitful or short-lived (the ardor of their honeymoon soon faded)”. Most people would not apply this term to a calculated, pre-meditated act of murder. This was not Romeo and Juliet or a tragic opera. This is a perpetrator who stalked, abused and battered his partner. Decades past, killing your wife “in the heat of passion” could give you a finding of innocent by a jury precisely because we associated the murder with passion. We left that era, thank God. We now know that domestic violence is coercive control exercised by one member to gain power over an intimate partner. It is calculated, well-thought out and purposeful. In my 24 years in this work I have never heard a victim refer to her abuse as filled with passion.
Secondly, I think we must be careful in how we portray the deceased. We don’t know why a reconciliation occurred. However, she is not at fault for trusting a person who professed love. If anything, it is a reminder of the complexity of domestic violence. Our focus must be on the perpetrator. Instead of asking “Why did she go back?” we must ask “Why would someone so severely hurt the person who loves him?”
Please call or blog the Palo Alto Police Department and express your dismay about using the term “passion” when describing domestic violence. The Palo Alto Police Department number is (650) 329-2413. And if you have enough energy, please add a comment about not blaming the victim to the article published in the San Jose Mercury News under the title “Boyfriend arrested in connection with woman’s death in Palo Alto fire,” posted October 20, 2009.
(Image from Austin for Iran via Google Images).
