California’s law silenced the victims of abuse in court

By Susan Bustamante, special for Calmatters

This comment was originally published by CalmattersS Register about their ballots.

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Thirty years ago, I did the most bold thing I could imagine: I asked for help.

I had survived years of sexual abuse from my father, followed by a violent violent marriage. For years, my husband was beating me, threatened me, forced me into isolation, and even forced me to have an abortion.

I endured it and silent until I could already. I had two daughters to defend.

When I trusted my brother and explained what was happening, I believed I was making a first step towards freedom. I never expected my husband to be killed and that I will be accused of his deathaccused of plotting to collect life insurance.

I believed the truth would protect me that if the courts knew about the years of abuse, they would understand. However, during the test, I was forbidden to discuss the years of trauma, fear and violence. Antique laws mean that my truth was muted.

I was sentenced to life without probation.

It was not justice, but I’m not alone. Studford University Survey on Women deprived of California for murder or murder It found that nearly 75% had experienced violence in an intimate partner during the year before their crime.

California’s law allows the courts to ignore this context – even when a person’s actions were a direct result of agony, coercion or despair. The survivors are often punished without being able to tell their full story.

If Assembly Bill 938 Gaps, this will give the survivors a chance to present evidence of abuse and trauma. This testimony is not just protection; This is a crucial part of the truth. He guarantees that what came before a moment of crisis has not been deleted.

In recent years, we have seen some progress. More survivors of human trafficking get a chance to clear their criminal records, which are often the result of their operation. This changes: She gathered the families and reopened doors, housing and healing.

But many other survivors of traffic, domestic violence and violence against children are still refuses relief because the current law is too narrowS Their suffering is pushed aside. Their records follow them for life.

Violators and traffickers often force their victims to commit crimes. They use illegal actions such as control tools and threats of exposure as a strap. This leads to survivors, confronted with prison prison, while the abuse they have suffered is entirely outside the courtroom.

AB 938 would allow the judges to hear about the years of psychological manipulation and impossible options to choose survivors. Does not create doors; This creates justice. Does not justify the harm; He admits that it has already been harmed.

When they believe and support survivors, they can do more than just survive. They treat. They raise families. They restore their communities. But this only happens when the justice system sees them as whole people with whole stories.

Although I was sentenced to die in prison, I was given switching in 2017. I went to a world that had stepped without me. I had missed the weddings of my daughters and the births of my grandchildren – moments that I would never return.

Still, I continued and re -contacted my family. I build life with the time I have left. I don’t need regret. I needed a court he listened.

This article was Originally Published on CalMatters and was reissued under Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Noderivatives License.