We refuse to stay silent.

Domestic violence is not a private family matter.

It is a public safety issue.
It is a criminal justice issue.
It is a children’s issue.
And for far too many Montana families, it is a matter of life and death.

We are calling on the State of Montana to take meaningful action to protect victims and survivors of domestic violence and to ensure that perpetrators are held appropriately accountable for the harm they cause.

According to Montana’s judicial access report, 5,838 partner or family member assaults occurred in Montana in 2022, and at least 91 people were killed in domestic-violence-related murders between 2018 and 2023. (Montana Courts⁠)

Behind those numbers are mothers, daughters, sisters, children, fathers, grandparents, and families whose lives have been permanently changed by violence.

And there are countless survivors whose stories never become statistics.

WE ARE ASKING MONTANA TO DO BETTER.

We call upon Montana lawmakers, prosecutors, courts, law enforcement agencies, and other responsible institutions to strengthen the state’s response to domestic violence by:

1. DEMANDING MEANINGFUL ACCOUNTABILITY

When domestic violence, stalking, strangulation, threats, harassment, or violations of protection orders occur, victims deserve a justice system that takes those offenses seriously.

We call for consistent enforcement of Montana’s existing domestic-violence laws and appropriate consequences when those laws are violated.

Montana already recognizes protection orders as an important tool for protecting victims of partner and family member assault, sexual assault, and stalking. Protection orders can prohibit contact, require an offender to stay away from a victim, and in appropriate circumstances address firearm possession. (Montana Courts⁠)

A protection order should not become merely a piece of paper.

When a person violates a court order designed to protect another human being, that violation deserves a serious and consistent response.

2. PROTECTING SURVIVORS WHO REPORT

We recognize that reporting abuse can be terrifying.

Many survivors fear retaliation, losing their children, financial devastation, homelessness, continued stalking, threats, or not being believed.

Some survivors have already watched their abuser manipulate the legal system, minimize what happened, or face consequences that they believe do not reflect the danger they experienced.

We demand a system where survivors are treated with dignity, their safety is taken seriously, and their concerns are not dismissed simply because physical violence did not occur in front of an officer.

Domestic violence can include physical, sexual, emotional, psychological, and economic abuse, as well as threats, intimidation, coercion, stalking, and other behaviors used to maintain power and control. (Montana Courts⁠)

3. RECOGNIZING THE DANGER OF ESCALATION

Leaving an abusive relationship does not necessarily mean the danger is over.

In fact, Montana’s judicial access report notes that evidence shows severe violence and homicide risk can escalate when a victim attempts to leave. (Montana Courts⁠)

Survivors need safety planning, accessible advocates, legal assistance, housing resources, financial assistance, and meaningful enforcement of protective orders.

They should not have to become experts in the criminal justice system while simultaneously trying to survive an abusive relationship.

4. IMPROVING ACCOUNTABILITY FOR REPEAT OFFENDERS

We call for stronger identification of repeat domestic violence, stalking, harassment, strangulation, and protection-order violations across cases and jurisdictions.

Patterns matter.

One incident may be treated as an isolated event, while a survivor may be experiencing months or years of escalating behavior.

The system must have the ability to see the pattern.

5. IMPROVING SURVIVOR ACCESS TO LEGAL REPRESENTATION

A person escaping an abusive relationship should not have to navigate complicated court proceedings alone.

Montana courts themselves have identified inadequate resources for victims seeking legal protections and have highlighted proposals to expand access to trained Community Justice Workers who can assist survivors in protection-order proceedings. (Montana Courts⁠)

We support expanding access to qualified legal assistance and victim advocacy throughout Montana, including rural communities.

6. PROTECTING CHILDREN FROM DOMESTIC VIOLENCE

Domestic violence does not only affect the person being abused.

Children who witness violence, threats, intimidation, stalking, or coercive control are also affected.

The safety of children must be considered when courts and agencies make decisions involving custody, visitation, protection orders, and family services.

A child should never be placed in danger simply because the violence occurred between adults.

7. TRANSPARENCY AND PUBLIC ACCOUNTABILITY

Montana should collect and publicly report meaningful statewide information regarding domestic violence cases, including:

Reported domestic violence offenses
Arrests
Charges filed
Case dispositions
Protection-order violations
Repeat offenses
Sentencing outcomes
Domestic-violence-related homicides
Availability of victim services
Geographic disparities in access to services
Montana already maintains crime-data dashboards that include domestic violence information and clearance data. (MBCC⁠)

We believe Montana should use that information to identify gaps, improve accountability, and measure whether reforms are actually protecting survivors.

THIS PETITION IS ABOUT THE WOMEN WHO NEVER GOT TO TELL THEIR STORIES.

It is for the woman who stayed because she was afraid.

The woman who left and was stalked.

The woman who called for help and was told it was a “civil matter.”

The woman who had a protection order and still didn’t feel safe.

The woman who was threatened if she talked.

The mother who stayed because she believed leaving would put her children in greater danger.

The survivor who went to court alone.

The survivor who was not believed.

The survivor who was believed but still feels the system failed to protect her.

And the women whose names we will never know because their stories ended in violence.

WE BELIEVE SURVIVORS.

We believe that domestic violence deserves serious attention.

We believe that protection orders must mean protection.

We believe that children deserve safety.

We believe that repeat offenders must be identified.

We believe that victims deserve meaningful access to justice.

We believe that Montana can do better.

And we believe silence cannot be the price a survivor pays for speaking up.

OUR DEMAND

We respectfully call upon the Montana Legislature, Montana courts, prosecutors, law enforcement agencies, victim-service organizations, and state officials to work together to strengthen Montana’s response to domestic violence and to establish measurable standards for survivor safety, offender accountability, protection-order enforcement, and access to legal and community resources.

We ask Montana’s elected officials to listen to survivors, examine the data, identify failures in the current system, and pursue evidence-based reforms that reduce violence and protect victims.

SIGN THIS PETITION.

Not because every case is the same.

Not because every survivor needs the same solution.

But because every survivor deserves to be taken seriously, every child deserves to be safe, and every person experiencing domestic violence deserves a system that works to protect them.

Montana, it is time to stop asking survivors why they didn’t leave sooner.

Start asking why they had to be afraid to leave in the first place.

Start asking whether our systems are doing enough to protect them after they leave.

And start demanding accountability when they are not.

If you want to help make a difference, and live in Great Falls or other Montana cities and have experienced DV and was not helped by our justice system and got hurt or still live in fear everyday because you weren’t protected please write your story to me and send to the following email sfontanez@uaflag.com . I will be taking all of these stories with me when I present Avery’s Law in front of legislature to get changes made. These people need to see the failures in our system and the families that have suffered. 

WE WILL NOT STAY SILENT.