I live in the Bronx, less than a mile from the Forty-Sixth Precinct, and I know what it feels like to call for help and wait while your life is on the line. I was dealing with a man in my own building who would come to my door kicking and banging, and I kept calling the police because I was scared. Half the time they did not show up, and when they did, it could be two hours later or even four or five hours later. I kept thinking the same thing over and over: I could have been dead by then.

This is not just my story. Too many women are being told to call the police, do the right thing, get the restraining order, file the reports, and still get left unprotected. We are talking about mothers, daughters, sisters, neighbors, and children who are living in fear behind their own front doors. When help comes too late, the system is not helping us at all.

I am calling on New York City police leadership to require a true rapid-response protocol for domestic violence calls in the Bronx, especially when there is a history of prior reports, active protection orders, or repeat harassment at the same address. If someone says a person is at the door, threatening them, kicking the door, or violating an order, that call needs immediate in-person response, not hours later and not a callback after the danger has already passed. Women should not have to survive long enough to prove they were in danger.

If you are tired of hearing about women asking for help and then ending up harmed or killed, please sign this petition. Sign if you believe protection orders should mean something. Sign if you believe no woman should be left waiting, terrified, wondering whether anybody is coming before it is too late.