Candlelight vigil held to protest domestic violence

The fight against domestic violence continues. Last Thursday night, the Youth Affairs Office, Women’s Affairs Office, and the Family Violence Task Force hosted a candlelight vigil in Tanapag to raise awareness about the ill effects of domestic violence.

“This is sort of a quiet protest against domestic violence,” said Florence Kirby, special assistant for Youth Affairs. “It’s a way for us to bring awareness to not put up with domestic violence.”

Kirby urges everyone to be proactive in bringing awareness to the public on the matter.

“Together, we can come up with better laws that will deal with these kind of cases,” she said. “We all must be proactive. I would like the community to get involved, especially the women.”

Kirby explained that domestic violence has nothing but negative impacts on everyday lives.

“I know several mothers who have low self-esteem; that affects their kids, some of whom would develop low self-esteem as well. It’s a social problem. I am trying to be calm about the issue, but I am not. I am really angry and sad, and I invite the public to have a voice,” she said.

Kirby said that, due to the rising number of such incidents, a stronger campaign against domestic violence should be in place.

“We definitely need a stronger campaign. We need to take care of our kids. There are so many incidents reported, and many more that aren’t. How many will die before we start acting,” she said.

Last May, Gov. Juan N. Babauta signed a bill into law that criminalizes domestic abuse, along with mandatory jail terms for violators.

The new measure also provides that there would be no suspension of sentence and that a violator’s sentence may be increased if children witness the abuse incident.

The law aims to provide more protection to victims of domestic abuse and appropriate penalties to the abusers.

The Domestic Violence Criminal Act, which includes the crime of stalking to the Commonwealth Criminal Code, also provides escalating penalties for repeat offenders and requires law enforcement officers to advise and assist victims in providing medical attention and emergency shelter.

Under the measure, added to the existing statute are misdemeanor cases that include interference with domestic violence report, unlawful contact, violation of order protection, duties of law enforcers, notification to victims of domestic violence, mandatory arrest, course of conduct or repeated acts, bail and conditions of release in domestic violence cases, and mandatory sentencing.

The new measure also amended 6 CMC Section 4113 to prohibit the court from granting suspended sentence on any defendants convicted of a crime involving domestic violence. Also, the measure protects the confidentiality of communication between the victim and her/his counselor.

In a report earlier this year, the Domestic Violence Intervention Center disclosed that in the past six years, the Department of Public Safety responded to an average of over 300 cases classified as domestic disturbance complaints. In reality, though, it said the number of domestic abuse incidents in the CNMI exceeds 800 cases a year.