“It’s a chilling thought that the same day we all gathered to discuss domestic-violence prevention and education, a life was cut short due to this tragic crime just a few blocks away. This reaffirms the need for more conversations like this about domestic violence.”
VAWnet News Blog
Christopher Chapa had a lot of plans ahead adding, “I think that’s the hardest part is just seeing what would have been.” His plans included marrying his girlfriend Claudia Esquivel and being step-father to her five-year-old son. In June of 2014 Chapa was shot to death in Galveston. The woman now charged with his murder is the one he was about to propose to.
“… fewer than half of all domestic violence victims ever call the police. One reasonable reaction to this data is to encourage more victims to call the police for help. And we do. But that’s not the only or best solution for everyone.
“The stigma associated with IPV may be especially pervasive in minority victim populations, including men abused by women, people in same-sex relationships, or transgender individuals. These victims may be especially reluctant to report IPV to law enforcement, resulting in a cycle of abuse in which violent partners escape the criminal justice system and become repeat offenders.
“Police may remove the perpetrator, but the victim is left with the question of what to do next,” Messing says.
“The Teach Safe Relationships Act of 2015 [ … ] would require that health education in public secondary schools include learning on ‘safe relationship behavior’ aimed at preventing sexual assault, domestic violence and dating violence. Under current federal law, health and sex education classes needn’t include sexual assault prevention.”