Violence Against Family Act revived
By Marley Shebala
Navajo Times
WINDOW ROCK, July 21, 2011
After it lay dormant for 12 or 14 years, first lady Martha Shelly dusted off the Violence Against Family Act and placed it in the hands of Delegates Katherine Benally and Joshua Butler as part of "Navajo Nation Stop Violence Against Women Day" on Wednesday.
The first lady, Benally (Chilchinbeto/Dennehotso/Kayenta) and Butler (Tó Nanees Diz') were among about 30 individuals who walked from the Window Rock police station to the Council Chambers.
There stood an array of booths set up by domestic violence shelters from across the reservation, and the Division of Social Services' Family Violence Prevention & Services Act Program.
President Ben Shelly met the walkers near the Chambers and walked with them the rest of the way.
The walkers carried signs bearing the messages "Nothing Good Comes of Violence," "Home Is Sacred," "No Excuse for Abuse," and "These Hands Are Not Made for Hurting," which they posted in front of the Council.
The Council was in the third day of its five-day summer session.
Martha Shelly said she was confident that the Council would pass the act.
Benally and Butler agreed with her.
"I read all the newspapers and almost everyday there's a story about abuse," Benally said. "As a nation, it's unconscionable for us, as leaders, to sit back and think that all these domestic violence problems will take care of themselves.
"We need to give the first responders - the police, advocates, shelters, courts - tools to address this," she said. "This legislation is the tool."
Butler added, "We've waited far too long to bring this legislation before the Council."
He said perhaps the reason that prior Councils failed to pass the domestic violence law was because of a 1950s mentality that such matters should stay in the home and not be discussed publicly.
"Government leaders need to get involved," he said. "Domestic violence negatively impacts children, families and society. There are too many victims."
Among the signs placed in front of the Council were life-size silhouettes of three Navajo women.
Lorena Halwood, director of Chinle's ADABI shelter (the acronym stands for Am‡ doo ‡lch'n'' bighani or "mother and children's home"), explained that the silhouettes represented the silent witnesses of domestic violence.
"They can't speak anymore because they were killed," Halwood said.
The three silent witnesses each had a small metal placard telling they were how their voices were stilled.
They were Anna Peshlakai, 27, of Sheep Springs, N.M., Jo Ann Platero, 43, of Bloomfield, N.M., and Ella Johnson, 20, of Gallup.
Peshlakai's husband stabbed her 17 times in the heart and lung in June 1993. He was charged with involuntary manslaughter and sentenced to eight years in prison.
Platero died from multiple wounds inflicted by her boyfriend in January 1994, five days after she obtained an emergency protection order against him. He was charged with first-degree murder.
Johnson died from a gunshot to the back of her head delivered by her estranged husband, a Gallup police officer, in June 1991. He was charged with involuntary manslaughter, and released after serving his sentence.
Butler said he was pleased the bill would mandate the arrest of alleged abusers.
"Domestic violence is very contrary to the Navajo way of life and it's a clear violation of fundamental human rights," he said.
Wednesday's demonstration was just a warm-up for October, when the proposed Violence Against Family Act is expected to reach the Council during its fall session.
Halwood, who sat on the original Navajo Nation Advisory Council on Domestic Violence that started drafting the bill in 1996, said public hearings on the Act were held in 1998.
Halwood said that recent statistics for ADABI show the number of male and female victims is increasing.
About 95 percent of the victims are females but the male numbers are steadily increasing, she emphasized.
Halwood said that in 2009, ADABI assisted 482 females with children and 29 males. In 2010, 631 females and 58 males came to the shelter, she said.
Halwood said she didn't have enough data to explain the increase in male victims.
Perhaps it's because the community is becoming more educated about domestic violence, and what people can do to put a stop to it, she said.
Whatever it is, the bottom line is that first responders, who are the police and shelter advocates, need support and this legislation will make that happen, Halwood said.
"We shouldn't wait until another tragedy happens, especially in light of what happened to Sgt. Curley," she added, referring to the June 26 death of Navajo Nation Police Sgt. Darrell Curley, who was fatally shot while responding to a call about a family fight in Kaibeto, Ariz.
"Domestic violence calls is one of the worst calls that law enforcement responds to," Halwood noted.
"We're in the trenches everyday. We see the horrors of domestic violence - broken jaws, bruises, scratches," she said. "We get the calls at 4 a.m. from the hospital to pick up victims of domestic violence and sexual assault. We need this law."
ADABI shelter advocate Gloria Coumoyer, who was unable to attend the walk because she was taking care of some women and children who needed shelter on Wednesday, had a one-page statement read by Halwood.
Coumoyer said that as she finally took some time to sit down and rest, she watched the victims with "visible bruises, cuts and bite marks on their faces, legs and arms" feeding their children.
She said tears started filling her eyes.
"What I saw was the tattered, bruised, torn spirits of my sisters," Coumoyer said. "We can go to workshops, conferences, meetings to discuss the why's, should'ves, could'ves of the battered women and the batterer. But this is the reality ... she was still tending her children.
"What strength," she said. "What courage. What perseverance our Navajo women have. Now tell me who is the real Navajo warrior. I honor them and respect them, my sisters. That is why I am here - to help, to preserver, to use my frustrations and anger to help make a difference so we don't have to live like this anymore."
Before reaching the full Council, the Violence Against Family Act will be reviewed by various standing committees. During this time, the legislation will be open for public comment on the Council's Web site, www.navajonationcouncil.org.