Local activist and president of Guerinos Against Graffitti, Heather Guerino, met with Assemblywoman Nathalia Fernandez to discuss issues surrounding domestic violence and how it is handled by authorities.

The meeting came days after Lisa Marie Velasquez was killed while trying to protect her friend from an abusive boyfriend. In an ironic twist, Velasquez also witnessed the abuse and death of her mother, resulting in Velasquez’s grandmother raising her. Guerino wants to make life safer for victims of domestic violence by retraining police officers on how to deal with orders of protection.

Guerino has found the system marred with loopholes that can endanger victims’ lives. For instance, she notes that an abuser can receive permission from housing court to reenter the home of their victim and their children, despite an order of protection being placed against them. “…Most abusers know how to manipulate the system,” Guerino said in a phone interview with the Norwood News. “They know how to lie to get what they want, so they can keep on coming back to abuse the victim.”

“So now you have a woman who has an order of protection. That order of protection was presented to the housing court judge before a decision was made,” said Guerino. “So now, here it is, the judge on this case makes a decision for the abuser to be back with the victim. It’s like, oh my god. What do you do?”

Guerino is asking that legislation be passed in Albany to further protect victims from their abusers by closing loopholes that allow abusers to return and continue abusing. In a letter to Fernandez, Guerino insists that family court, housing court, and the district attorney’s office should team up to take action.

Alongside retraining police and educating the housing court system, Guerino wants other forms of help to be available to victims, including 24-hour respite care for the children of afflicted families, easier access to domestic violence counseling, and protection from eviction due to the actions of the abuser.

While the state could always use additional resources, there are already a number of bills working to keep victims safe. In 2013 a bill was passed that allows victims to change their telephone number for free and keep their name off listings. In March of this year, a bill preventing abusers from getting their hands on weapons was passed.

According to the 2017 report by the New York City Domestic Violence Fatality Review Committee, from 2010 to 2016 there were 78 people killed by intimate partners in the Bronx, the most for any borough. There were 64 people killed by other family members for a total of 142 domestic violence related deaths in the Bronx. Manhattan, on the other hand, had a grand total of 56.

Guerino is asking Fernandez to hold a press conference on domestic violence, so that victims who fear speaking out may find encouragement and help.

Fernandez has been working on a bill related to domestic violence. In a statement she said she’ll be introducing “a bill that will allow for victims of domestic abuse to receive lifetime orders of protection.”