Letters to the Editor: When domestic violence survivors say they’re in danger, believe them

To the editor: The Los Angeles Times’ recent story on the murder of Nora Villanueva Campanor by her partner shows what advocates and researchers who study intimate partner violence see every day across the country: systems that fail survivors and their families (“She got a restraining order against her ex — and still ended up dead. Here’s how the system failed her,” Sept. 16). Health, legal, child welfare and community systems should work together around the whole family. That’s why our organizations recently came together with civic and health systems leaders, advocates working with survivors and people who have harmed their partner, and health services researchers from across the U.S.

A key truth emerged: When survivors say they’re in danger, believe them. Dismissing their risk assessment can be fatal. We must also build proactive responses that support the entire family — including basic safety for survivors but also support for children and offending partners. Even a one-time $1,500 cash grant can empower survivors to create safety for themselves and their children, on their own terms.

Nora deserved that chance, as do the more than 1 in 3 women and their families affected by intimate partner violence across the U.S. It’s on all of us to take decisive action to create systems that center the whole family.

Cynthia Amezcua, Los Angeles; Stephanie Garcia, Philadelphia
Amezcua is state policy and advocacy manager for FreeFrom, a national survivor-led organization working to end gender-based violence by building economic freedom and safety with survivors. Garcia is a research scientist for PolicyLab at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.