*Please share. Thank you for the support.

A CRIME IS A CRIME:  If someone that you were not associated with committed a crime against you, the police would take a report , investigate and turn over to the prosecutor to review violations.

Due to gender and domestic relations bias, many cases go unheard and unaccounted for.

Crimes take many forms and extends beyond physical violence and may involve the exploitation of power imbalances and patterns of harassment.

Police are part of the community they serve and must protect it from within. Prosecutors are the gatekeeper to the Justice System.  When either of these organizations classify domestic-related cases as civil and not criminal, as "drama," not crime, they may not realize it's further victimizing the abused, while negating the rights of women and domestic partners as citizens.  

Gender /Domestic Partner bias translates in many ways:
* Failure to properly investigate
* Misclassifications of cases (e.g. categorizing something as a “disturbance” instead of domestic violence)
* Downgrading complaints (e.g., sexual assault treated as less severe because it was committed by acquaintance)
* Penalizing victims for repeat calls
* Reliance on characterizations rather than on victims’ own account
* Failure to question suspects and witnesses
* Stereotyped comments (e.g., “I didn’t blame the husband because of the way she was carrying on . . .”)
* Failure to provide interpreters or victim advocacy services

When REAL CRIMES are classified as CIVIL due to bias, it further burdens victims, requiring them to retain an attorney to have their case heard. If the case was classified as a CRIME, the local prosecutor will represent the victim on behalf of their jurisdiction. An economically disadvantaged victim could be forced to drop their complaint due to lack of legal funds or available agency assistance. 

Obviously, there are special circumstances such as property and custody that come into play with a domestic dispute... but the issue is CRIMINAL ACTIVITY. Crimes that would be immediately classified as such if parties did not have a domestic history. Crimes that would NOT require the VICTIM to pay for legal aid.  Harassments, Stalking, Theft of Property, Bullying, Physical and Sexual Assault.

I am asking for your support of a federal bill to protect ALL victims from having their cases "misclassified" due to CIVIL domestic relations complaints by any form of gender or domestic partner bias.  The bill would require that ALL cases be investigated and prosecuted EQUALLY with a checklist to ensure no presence of gender or domestic partner bias. Perhaps more rigid investigation and enforcement of laws, would deter future incidents of domestic abuse and crimes. 

Eliminate Gender & Domestic Partner Bias In Crime Investigations & Prosecution.

ALL victims deserve the same application of law and protection. Please share. Thank you for the support.

Data Points:

The National Domestic Violence Hotline survey(*1) surveyed 637 women with experiences of partner abuse who had contacted the Hotline and who agreed to participate. Over HALF (328) reported that they had not interacted with police about their partner abuse experiences. Participants were an average of 30 years old and mostly white (56%), Hispanic (15%), and African‐American (11%).

Both the women who had called the police and the women who hadn’t called the police shared a strong reluctance to turning to law enforcement for help. Those women who had experienced abuse but had not contacted the police expressed the following fears:

70% stated that they feared that calling the police would make things worse (offender would get only a slap on the wrist, or calling would have negative consequences for them); 59% feared police would not believe them or would do nothing; 45% feared police would be rude to the offender or that calling the police would have negative consequences for the offender’s life; 17% feared police would be violent or would threaten to arrest or actually arrest them. Of those women who had experienced abuse and who had called police, only one in five reported feeling safer, one half the victims felt that there was no difference in their safety, and one third felt less safe.

A significant percentage of survivors (two out of three) who reported contacting police said they were somewhat or extremely afraid to call the police again in the future. Eighty percent feared the police would not believe them or would do nothing; 51% feared calling would make things worse; 28% feared police would be violent or would threaten to arrest or actually arrest them; 22% feared police would be rude to the offender or that calling the police would have negative consequences for the offender’s life. Approximately one in four women (24%) reported that they had been arrested or threatened with arrest during a partner abuse incident or while reporting a sexual assault incident to the police.

Additionally, 43% of women who called police felt discriminated against:
* 53% for not being a “perfect” victim (income, reputation, disability, sexual identity).
* 46% because of gender (men side with men and won’t believe me).
* 24% because of police lack of understanding about partner abuse and sexual assault.
* 22% because of race/ethnicity or immigration status.
* 20% because of politics or a connection with the offender

(*1)  TK Logan and Roberta Valente, Who Will Help Me? Domestic Violence Survivors Speak Out About Law Enforcement Responses, NATIONAL DOMESTIC VIOLENCE HOTLINE: WASHINGTON, DC (2015), at:
http://www.thehotline.org/wp‐content/uploads/2015/09/NDVH‐2015‐Law‐Enforcement‐Survey‐Report.pdf