THE SUDDEN SPOTLIGHT on Massachusetts’ painfully strained shelter system – creaking under growing demand driven by new migrant arrivals – has mostly glanced past a group that was already struggling to find safe haven before the crunch hit “unsustainable” levels. Survivors of domestic violence and sexual abuse sit at the uneasy intersection of the system’s […]
domestic violence
Posted inCriminal Justice
She recorded her abuser, then she faced charges
THE WOMAN’S HUSBAND pushed her down on her bed and placed a pillow over her face. He threatened her and the couple’s young child, according to court findings granting the woman a restraining order. The woman, who lives on the South Shore, recorded her husband without his consent, taping phone conversations and conversations inside their […]
Posted inUncategorized
First-in-the-nation hotline seeks to help abusers
MASSACHUSETTS HAS numerous hotlines and resources for people who have been abused by their intimate partners. But if an abuser wants to change his behavior, who can he call for help? A new helpline being launched as a pilot program by organizers in Western Massachusetts aims to be the first helpline in the United States […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Domestic violence homicides decline during pandemic
THERE WAS A significant drop in domestic violence–related homicides in Massachusetts in 2020, according to a new state report, but some worry that there may be a dark underside to what would normally be regarded as unalloyed good news. Advocates for domestic violence victims say the decrease in domestic violence homicides may actually be a function of more victims staying in violent relationships because of the […]
Posted inPolitics
Undocumented abuse survivors break silence on bus
THE PARKING LOT STOOD EMPTY Wednesday morning, but then women in groups of two or three, dressed in white shirts, began streaming in, murmuring about the humidity in Spanish. A yellow school bus pulled up. Women began smiling and climbing aboard, reconnecting over bottled water. One woman handed out apples and snacks. Sandy Rodriguez, 16, sat down in one seat, and pointed out an […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, Opinion, Politics
Solution to domestic violence homicide: Fewer guns or more guns?
SINCE 2012, THERE have been 82 domestic violence homicides in Massachusetts, many involving the use of a gun. What’s to be done about these tragedies? The Legislature’s Judiciary Committee heard testimony on Tuesday on two bills with starkly opposing solutions to the problem, both solutions involving access to guns. One bill would create a new kind […]