Combating Domestic Violence

By Vin Gopal, Eric Houghtaling and Joann Downey
The health crisis has created great stress on many people’s mental health and one of the disturbing ways we are seeing the results is in increased reports of domestic violence.
Cases of domestic violence in New Jersey have risen sharply during the COVID-19 pandemic after an initial drop in March and April. However, since then requests in the courts for temporary restraining orders rose sharply compared to pre-pandemic levels.

That’s why we introduced a Domestic Violence Bill Package in the Assembly and the Senate. The bill package is dedicated to the family of Stephanie Parze, a young Freehold Township woman who was murdered last year by an abusive boyfriend.

Domestic violence can happen to anyone – women, men, children, between spouses and even friends. It can be one of the most difficult situations to talk about. But we must have this conversation in order to support the survivors and work towards preventing it from happening in the first place.

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Our bills include expanding the definition of domestic violence; seizing ammunition in response to domestic violence restraining order and notifying family members when firearms are returned to the person charged with domestic violence. One of the bills would require obstetrical providers to perform domestic violence screenings and all health care professionals to take actions to prevent perpetrators of domestic violence from obtaining copies of the survivor’s medical record.

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The package also includes bills to give survivors of domestic violence access to the income tax credit program and provide survivors with full benefit coverage for mental health treatment and therapy.

To better understand how to improve the laws already on the books, we spoke with police and prosecutors as well as social workers, the New Jersey Coalition to End Domestic Violence, and survivors, including Stephanie Parze’s father, Edward, who founded the Stephanie Nicole Parze Foundation. Edward’s Foundation is a good example of how our nonprofits help support our most vulnerable residents in ways where state agencies may not be able to help. We also continue to work with 180 Turning Lives Around, another nonprofit that empowers survivors and families affected by domestic violence and sexual assault to find the courage and strength to turn their lives around. In addition to funding from government and civic agencies, faith-based organizations, corporations, and foundations, 180 Turning Lives Around and the Stephanie Nicole Parze Foundation rely on individual contributions.

If you would like to help by volunteering or donating, please visit the 180 Turning Lives Around website at 180nj.org or the Stephanie Nicole Parze Foundation at snpfoundation.org.

We can help fight domestic violence by speaking out. As Edward Parze told us, domestic violence is one of the most underreported crimes. We can change that. If you know someone experiencing domestic violence, encourage them to seek help by calling NJ Department of Children and Families 24-hour confidential Domestic Violence Hotline at (800) 572-SAFE (7233) or visiting their website at nj.gov/dcf/women/hotlines for a full list of domestic abuse and sexual assault resources and hotlines.

If you think the person is in imminent danger, call your police department because survivors of domestic assault deserve to be heard, believed, and protected.