Violence Against Women Act passes, DVRCC sees increase in rape cases

DICKINSON, N.D. — The Violence Against Women Act passed the Senate 72-22 earlier this week and it’s on its way to the House for the reauthorization of the 19-year-old law first written by Vice President Joe Biden.

North Dakota’s junior senator, Heidi Heitkamp, was a co-sponsor of the bill and its senior senator, John Hoeven, also voted yes on its reauthorization.

Back at home a population increase due to an oil boom is changing the way domestic violence and rape crisis centers are taking care of the victims that walk through their doors, officials said Friday.

“They really have three options,” said Darianne Johnson, executive director of the Domestic Violence and Rape Crisis Center in Dickinson. “They can stay at the shelter long-term, the move out of state or they go back to the situation that they’re in.”

Women coming to Dickinson from towns that can’t be accessed on a tank of gas often don’t have the support of family and friends that they would “back home.”

“We have worked with women who have absolutely no one,” Johnson said. “And their families could be one state away or 10 states away. Which makes it very hard to leave, because you are so dependent on that person.”

DVRCC works with many different agencies, including the Salvation Army, Dickinson Police Department, Stark County Sheriff’s Office, Community Action and Badlands Human Services.

“If we get someone that is not from here, that came up here with their boyfriend or husband or whatever the case may be, a lot of times they just want a bus ticket home,” Johnson said.

But this is putting a strain on budgets, said Janelle Moos, executive director of the North Dakota Council on Abused Women’s Services.

“They don’t want a lot of the long-term services from us, like a protection order or shelter,” she said. “They often just want bus money, gas money, a plane ticket to go back to where they’ve come from where they do have that support system.”

In January 2013, there were eight calls to the DPD for domestic violence/simple assault, according to the January police report.

January 2012 saw two calls of the same nature.

There were 57 arrests for domestic violence/simple assault by the DPD in 2012, Capt. Joe Cianni said. In 2011, that total was 38.

Not only has DVRCC seen an increase in cases coming to it for help, it has seen an increase in the severity of the injuries sustained, Johnson said.

Before the oil boom and resulting housing shortage, the DVRCC would help women get set up in their own place, she said. Now the agency is seeing more long-term stays at its facility.

“Victims are staying longer in the shelter because we’re not able to move them to their own place,” Moos said. “So it’s creating this bottleneck so victims that are coming in and requesting shelter, we’re not able to find space for them because we can’t move others out.”

The costs not only include rent, but necessities like groceries and childcare.

“To be able to afford it on your own is nearly impossible,” Johnson said.

The financial burden of living alone pushes women back into an abusive relationship, she said.

“In order to have a roof over their kids’ heads and to be able to provide ‘normal’ for them they will actually stay in a situation,” Johnson said. “And sometimes it’s the safest thing to do for them — which doesn’t make any sense and would take a very long conversation to explain — it’s very hard in our area with housing costs so incredibly high.”

DVRCC was running at capacity for several months, but lately has lightened up, Johnson said. But this is not necessarily a good thing.

“I just don’t want the reason to be that women are staying in the (abusive) situation because they feel helpless to get out,” she said.

DVRCC takes monetary donations as well as those of personal hygiene items such as toilet paper, body wash and feminine hygiene products, Johnson said. It always needs diapers of all sizes.

For assistance in southwest North Dakota, call 701-225-4506 or 1-888-225-4506.

Heitkamp will be touring the state next week starting Tuesday hosting round-table discussions about VAWA in Bismarck, Jamestown, Fargo, Grand Forks, Belcourt and Devils Lake.

For a complete schedule, visit www.thedickinonson press.com.

Tags: news, crime