Every month, thousands of protective orders are requested in Prince George’s County, Maryland, amid a rise in domestic violence since the pandemic started and hasn’t shown signs of abating.
On Oct. 1, the first day of Domestic Violence Awareness Month, Prince George’s County Council member Krystal Oriadha, a survivor of domestic violence, announced a new “#NoMore” campaign that she hopes will help offer those enduring violence at home the help they need.
Similarly, Maryland Del. Ashanti Martinez announced he’ll be pushing legislation at the state level to also help victims.
“We want to build awareness. We also want to make sure that we spread resources to our community,” Oriadha said. “So we’re also launching a virtual resource guide where people can access information to shelter services, services for counseling, clothes, all of the things that our survivors need access to.”
Prince George’s County Sheriff John Carr said his deputies, who serve protection orders, see firsthand the suffering that families go through when things inside the home turn violent.
“We’re averaging, still, 2,100 peace and protective orders a month here in Prince George’s County,” said Carr. “That trend is actually rising. We saw that trend rise during COVID-19, in the pandemic, where the domestic violence survivor was locked down with their abuser. That number has not changed, and that’s one thing that we wanted it to do, was to change and start to trend downward. Unfortunately, it has not.”
Carr also admitted that too many victims may start the process of seeking protective orders and other resources, but don’t see it through — often times because they don’t show up to court when they need to.
“You may make up, you may have that type of relationship to where, ‘Hey, he is the financial breadwinner of the home. I don’t want us to be without, I’ll drop the case,’” he said. “And therefore, it may go a few months, a few weeks, and then you’re right back in that same situation.”
He said the county is seeing more cases of violence between relatives, parents and children, for instance, on top of the intimate partner violence often associated with the term domestic violence. Carr also noted that the trauma experienced by victims, as well as children who might witness it, also lingers long past the time that a protective order is filed.
Oriadha said she’s reminded of her own history every day.
“I have scars that can only be healed through surgery, and there’s scars that most won’t see, but I see them every day that I get up and I take a shower — in the mirror,” Oriadha said. “And I think about so many survivors out there that are constantly re-traumatized by seeing scars that, because they go untreated, they’re so damaged that there’s no way to fix them but to go through surgery. But it’s a cosmetic surgery, and you won’t have access to those resources if you can’t afford it.”
Martinez is proposing to increase that access.
“Victims often bear physical marks that serve as a constant reminder of the harm they endured at the hands of their abuser,” said Martinez. “This legislation will ensure that victims and survivors that have suffered disfiguring injuries are able to access insurance coverage for cosmetic surgery to repair the harm that was done to them.”
“For far too long, victims of domestic violence have faced barriers to healing, financial barriers, societal barriers and even medical barriers. With this bill, we aim to remove one of those barriers,” he added.
Carr said the community can help further remove barriers that stop someone from fully exiting an abusive relationship by being more empathetic.
“Make them comfortable enough to actually say, ‘Hey, I have somebody that I can talk to, or I have somewhere that I can actually go,’” Carr said. “That’s what we need. We need those individuals and those citizens to feel comfortable enough to say, ‘Hey, no more. No (longer) can I stay in this situation.’”
Oriadha said that’s why this new campaign isn’t just for the victims of domestic violence.
“This is also about the family and network around them,” she said. “This is so important for families and for friends to realize — that being supportive and making sure that what that abuser says to them, that no one will believe and no one will be there for you, it’s so important that you prove them wrong.”
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