According to a report recently released by the National Domestic Violence Hotline, there has been a significant increase in domestic violence calls nationwide involving immigration-related concerns. Specifically, the report found that since the rise of Donald Trump, there has been an increase in the number of domestic violence calls in which abusers have been threatening to call federal immigration authorities.
The increase reportedly began to be seen last year, as Donald Trump secured his place as the GOP nominee, and that trend continued through 2016, making for a nearly 30 percent increase from 2015. One of the concerns with the trend is that immigrants who are experiencing abuse are going to increasingly choose not to report to authorities.
Another trend in domestic violence, which is being reported by advocates at state-certified domestic violence centers here in Florida, is that domestic violence incidents are increasing now for the second year in a row, making for an increased demand for their services. In addition, there is a trend of more violence and more fatalities in reported attacks. Advocates say the increase is probably tied to stressful financial circumstances, including job loss, inability to make monthly payments, and increased debt.
Reports like this are rarely sympathetic to accused abusers, of course, and rarely is there conveyed a clear understanding that those accused of domestic violence are innocent until proven guilty. Too often, reports about domestic violence make it easy for people to assume the worst of those accused of domestic violence. Sometimes this negative judgment can transfer into the way domestic violence cases are handled.
Anybody accused of domestic violence should work with an experienced criminal defense attorney to build the strongest possible defense case. In a future post, we’ll say more about why.
Sources:
Nbcmiami.com, “Domestic Violence Hotline: Immigration-Linked Calls Increase,” David Crary, May 8, 2017.
PalmBeachPost.com, “In tight economic times, domestic violence incidents jump in South Florida,” Peter Franceschina, Dec. 12, 2011.
