The Bakersfield Californian

Officials hope education can help curb domestic violence

BY ISHANI DESAI idesai@bakersfield.com

A mass shooting Sunday in Wasco left the community reeling, with five dead, including a Kern County Sheriff’s deputy, and a mother and her two sons. The Kern County Sheriff’s Office said the incident stemmed from domestic violence.

Shooter Jose Manuel Ramirez

Jr. killed Deputy Phillip Campas. Ramirez also killed his partner, Viviana Ramirez, and their two sons, Angel and Jose Manuel Ramirez III, authorities said.

Criminal charges against Ramirez Jr. from 2020 include willful cruelty to a child and battery of a spouse. The court issued a criminal protective order that allowed him peaceful contact with Viviana. However, he could not obtain a weapon for three years, said Kern County District Attorney spokesman Joseph Kinzel.

Despite this order, Ramirez Jr. used an AK-47-style weapon in this incident, deputies reported.

The horrific incident prompted Kern County District Attorney Cynthia Zimmer, during a vigil Tuesday night in Wasco, to urge domestic violence victims to seek help.

“Domestic violence is unacceptable,” Zimmer said. “This was unnecessary.”

Erika Melendez, a licensed marriage and family therapist with The Alliance Against Family Violence & Sexual Assault, said a society educated about domestic violence is key to eradicating all such incidents.

Marvin Luna, a legal specialist with the alliance, echoed Melendez’s concerns.

“General concepts of domestic violence ... (should) be available for

people to understand,” Luna said. “I have a lot of clients who come in and they don’t believe that they can qualify for a restraining order or they don’t believe that they can get remedies from the court, because there is no physical abuse happening. It is providing that education out in our community.”

The Alliance Against Family Violence & Sexual Assault offers wide-ranging services to fulfill its mission statement: stop domestic violence and sexual assault and assist survivors to heal.

“We need to be able to address both the crisis and trauma created,” said Louis Gill, the CEO of the alliance, which offers an anonymous 24-hour hotline, emergency shelters, legal assistance, therapists and more.

Barbara Vadnais, a director at the alliance, said many victims can access the organization’s services through the Family Justice Center on Oak Street in Bakersfield.

Vadnais said the center served 2,518 victims of domestic violence in 2019-2020. During the pandemic, the number of people seeking services declined. As the country begins to return to normalcy, more victims are accessing the available resources, Vadnais added.

“During (the pandemic), victims were at home with their abusers and didn’t have the freedom … to reach out for services,” Vadnais said.

At the center, case managers can direct individuals to services such as counseling, therapy or legal resources.

Witnesses of abuse can also experience “vicarious trauma,” Melendez said. Many people are unaware that secondhand abuse can also heavily impact their mental health.

“We will see that they have very much similar symptoms that the victim or survivor themselves would be experiencing,” Melendez said. “That also adds to … why people are nervous to report to get help.”

The frequency of digital harm within domestic abuse cases has steadily risen as the world becomes increasingly virtual, Melendez said.

Abusers can take control of another person’s devices; through this method, perpetrators can track their victim’s every move. Moreover, abusers will have full access to a victim’s banking information, their social media and every line of communication.

“Domestic violence is about control,” Gill said. “The intent is to isolate and control who is in their life and it eliminates the supportive network that every person has. That ... escalates into verbal abuse, and then the next stage is … physical. And then, the outcome that we all fear … fatally violent action.”

Luna said positive images of healthy, loving relationships are imperative to eradicating instances of domestic abuse.

Gill said the alliance has a prevention and education department that teaches classes about normal relationships in schools, community groups and places of worship.

Violence in relationships can be normalized because of generational trauma, where a child sees a parent or other adult harm their relatives or partner, Melendez said. A non-judgmental approach helps victims find a path out of an abusive relationship.

Zimmer said she plans to open a center similar to the Bakersfield Family Justice Center in the Arvin and Lamont area in the fall.

“We really feel access is important to the victim,” Zimmer said. “We want to make sure that victims who are ... afraid because of deportation issues, that they’ll feel free to come in.”

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2021-07-29T07:00:00.0000000Z

2021-07-29T07:00:00.0000000Z

https://bakersfield.pressreader.com/article/281492164353614

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