Suffering from domestic abuse? Help is available

If you are or anyone you know is a victim of domestic violence, know that help is available.

Karidat Social Services counselor Elaine Dela Cruz said their organization has a victim advocacy program, and that they can help provide support and services [to victims of domestic abuse].

“Domestic violence is still very prevalent in our community,” Dela Cruz said. “We just need to find a way to send out the messages of hope and support, and that there are some available out in the community to help those who are suffering from domestic violence.”

Karidat has been lending time and providing support to the community in support of the proclamation of October as Domestic Violence Awareness Month.

“Whether or not they [the victims] come forward today or tomorrow, if they know that help is available, then it sends an important message that we care, and we want to reach out and raise awareness on the issue,” Dela Cruz added.

For help on domestic violence, or for more information about Karidat’s programs, contact 234-6981. Karidat is located at the Sister Remedios Community Center, the former Sister Remedios Pre-School building on Chalan Kanoa Drive, in Chalan Kanoa Village.

In addition, for more information about supporting survivors, call the Northern Marianas Coalition Against Domestic & Sexual Violence at 234-3878, the Family Violence Task Force at 664-4584, or the National Domestic Violence Hotline website at thehotline.org.

A vast majority of domestic violence cases go unreported. More than 12 million women and men fall victims to rape, physical violence, or stalking by an intimate partner in the United States.

Here in the CNMI, 73 cases of domestic violence were prosecuted last year alone, with the Department of Public Safety attending to 239 calls regarding domestic abuse.

For the past 39 years, Karidat has been responding to people in need, including victims of human trafficking, and those who are suffering from domestic and sexual violence.

“People fleeing domestic violence, whether it be men or women, are so much stronger that they know, and that they are already surviving, and that hopefully, one day, when they do seek out the services, the services will be there to help them so much better,” Dela Cruz said.