Impact Success Narrative 2 #DVAM

We Serve Everyone

"I recently assisted a victim of domestic violence with filing a Protection Order against their former intimate partner. The victim had been facing ongoing and escalating harassment from their abuser since they had been granted full legal and physical custody of their shared child. Their abuser would contact them multiple times a day claiming to want to see their child, but when the victim would take their shared child to visitations with the abuser, the abuser would spend the visitation yelling at the victim and has even physically attacked the victim. The victim was fearful of their abuser and stated that they dreaded every visitation with their abuser because they knew their abuser was going to verbally harass them the entire time.
 
The victim had reported incidents of abuse to law enforcement but never felt comfortable cooperating with further investigations after the reports because they felt guilty and shameful about the abuse. The victim also never felt that they were truly believed by law enforcement because of their gender identity and the fact that they are physically larger than their abuser. The victim stated that during physically violent incidents, they would just try to minimize the harm done to them and get as far away from their abuser as possible as they never wanted to cause harm to their abuser because that was not how they were raised. Even once the victim’s protection order had been granted, and the judge told them that their abuser served a credible threat to their safety, they still felt shameful for having to file. I was able to let the victim know that there are many victims and survivors of domestic violence that identify as their gender and provided them with statistics backing this information up. Together, we discussed various resources geared towards victims of the same gender identity as the victim. The victim thanked me for always offering them a non-judgmental ear to listen and never making them feel bad for reporting these incidents."

Victim Advocate - Beacon of Hope Crisis Center

To learn more about how Beacon of Hope Crisis Center is making a positive impact in the community, register and join us during our Virtual Summit on October 26th. If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic violence or sexual assault, call our confidential crisis line at 317-731-6140 to speak with a Victim Advocate. In the case of an emergency, contact 9-1-1 immediately.