Resources and Information for Victims of Domestic Violence

The Vancouver Police Department is actively involved in a coordinated community response against Domestic Violence that includes participation in the Clark County Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Task Force and the Washington State Coalition Against Domestic Violence Fatality Review. The Vancouver Police Department has Domestic Violence unit which investigates domestic violence crimes and works with the the Domestic Violence Prosecution Center.

For victims who are concerned about the pending release of an offender we invite you to visit the VINELink website. VINELink is the online version of VINE (Victim Information and Notification Everyday), the National Victim Notification Network. This service allows crime victims to obtain timely and reliable information about criminal cases and the custody status of offenders 24 hours a day. Victims and other concerned citizens can also register to be notified by phone, email or TTY device when an offender’s custody status changes. Users can also register through their participating state or county toll-free number.

The U.S Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) also provides eligible victims and witnesses access to information regarding a criminal alien’s release from custody. Visit Victim Notification on the ICE website for more information.

Domestic Violence Myths, Facts and Statistics

Myth: Battering is only a momentary loss of temper.

Fact: Battering is the establishment of control and fear in a relationship through violence and other forms of abuse. The batterer uses a series of behaviors, including acts of violence, intimidation, threats, psychological abuse, isolation, etc., to coerce and to control the other person. The violence may not happen often, but it may remain as a hidden and constant terrorizing factor.

Myth: There isn’t any real violence going on in my relationship; my partner has never bruised me or hit me with a closed fist.

Fact: Any unwanted touching is a form of violence. Forced affection, pinches, slaps, shoves, and other unwanted physical contact are violent acts.

Myth: I can’t say there is any real violence in this relationship because my partner has never been physically abusive.

Fact: Any behavior that is used to control another person can be considered as violent. Verbal, emotional, and mental abuse are forms of violence that are as harmful as physical violence–and the effects are usually longer lasting.

Myth: Domestic violence does not affect many people.

Facts:

In the U.S. a woman is beaten every 15 seconds and over 850,00 men are physically assaulted by an intimate partner each year.
Domestic violence is the leading cause of injury to women between the ages of 15 and 44 in the U.S.–more than car accidents, muggings, and rapes combined.
Men are also often the victims of domestic violence. There is a general assumption that men are the violent partners, but statistics indicate that violence against male partners occurs in both same-sex, and male/female relationships
Battered women are more likely to suffer miscarriages and to give birth to babies with low birth weights.
63 percent of the young men between the ages of 11 and 20 who are serving time for homicide have killed their mother’s abuser.

Myth: The term “domestic violence” refers to wife beating.

Facts:

Because of this myth, many victims of domestic violence, especially men, are unwilling to report the abuse, believing they have no resources available to them. They may be isolated from friends and family, as well as embarrassed by a situation they feel they are responsible for themselves. Men are entitled to the same protections as women when they are assaulted, and deserve strong legal counsel who will fight for their rights, and work to protect them against abusive partners.
Domestic violence can affect anyone regardless of age, gender, sexual orientation, marital or social status, or religious preference.

Myths and facts were taken from the YWCA of Clark County’s SafeChoice pamphlet “Love Shouldn’t Hurt” and the US Department of Human Services and US Department of Justice statistics.

MOSAIC Threat Assessment

Click the link to take the MOSAIC assessment.

Victim’s Rights

IF YOU ARE THE VICTIM OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE, you can ask the city or county prosecuting attorney to file a criminal complaint. You also have the right to file a petition in superior, district, or municipal court requesting an order for protection from domestic abuse which could include any of the following:

(a)An order restraining your abuser from further acts of abuse;

(b) an order directing your abuser to leave your household;

(d) an order awarding you or the other parent custody of or visitation with your minor child or children; and

(e) an order restraining your abuser from molesting or interfering with minor children in your custody; and

(f)an order requiring your abuser to turn in any firearms and concealed pistol license in the abuser’s possession or control to law enforcement and prohibiting the abuser from possessing or accessing firearms or a concealed pistol license for the duration of the civil order.

The forms you need to obtain a protection order are available in any municipal, district, or superior court. Information about shelters and alternatives to domestic violence is available from a statewide twenty-four-hour toll-free hotline at 800-562-6025.

You can get the forms required to file an Order for Protection at:
Superior Court Clerk’s Office, First Floor, Courthouse, 1200 Franklin Street Vancouver, WA 98668

For Assistance and filing information call:
Victim Witness Assistance: 360-487-8545 or YWCA 360-696-0167

To get information about the status of your case contact:
The Domestic Violence Prosecution Center, 1101 Broadway St #120 Vancouver, WA 98660, Phone: 360-487-8530

Resources

YWCA of Clark County

ywcaclarkcounty.org
3609 Main Street
Vancouver, WA 98663

General: 360-696-0167
Toll Free: 1-800-695-0167
360-695-0501 Hotline
Sexual Assault 24-Hour Hotline: 800-695-0167

The YWCA domestic violence shelter provides emergency shelter to a woman or a man with or without children fleeing physical, emotional, and verbal abuse.

Crime Victim Service Centers (CVSC)

Emergency Support Shelter
Phone: 360-353-5777 x 14

National Domestic Violence Hotline:
1-800-799-SAFE (7233) or
TTY 1-800-787-3224.

Washington State Coalition Against Domestic Violence

Washington State Domestic Violence Hotline
1-800-562-6025

Visit the Washington State Crime Victims Compensation page to see if you qualify for compensation and to access the application.

Safety alert: Computer use can be monitored and is impossible to completely clear. If you are afraid your internet and/or computer usage might be monitored, please use a safer computer, call your local hotline at the YWCA Safe Choice 360-695-0501, and/or call the Washington State Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-562-6025.