Warning Signs of Domestic Violence
In New Mexico, there are dozens of cases of domestic violence per day, which district courts have to deal with. Also, there are between 40 and 50 received restraining orders each day.
Advocates, who are helping victims day to day, say that the first signs of domestic violence can be spotted early on. Jessie Fiero, an advocate at the Domestic Violence Resource Center, has asserted that the circumstances are different in each relationship. She added that everything was about power.
There are similarities in these cases — the victims were supposedly threatened by people very close to them. For instance, David Lopez from the city of Belen is charged with using a cellphone to intimidate the victim. The Police Department stated he used many numbers to intimidate a member of his family. What’s more, he said that he was going to burn that person’s home to the ground.
Fiero made it clear that the violence didn’t have to be physical and that emotional abuse could be as harmful as physical abuse.
Melben Gonzales from Albuquerque is accused of making threats to someone’s daughter. Namely, he threatened to kidnap and sexually assault the girl. The court’s document shows that Gonzales sent messages where he stated he would torture her.
Fiero pointed out that when they stopped threatening the victim, then they began intimidating people they loved.
In Farmington, Anthony Sandy threatened his former girlfriend. He supposedly shared her personal information and naked pictures publicly, and he even shared those with her family members. Court files indicate that individuals would come to her work asking for sexual favors. The court has information that Sandy said he informed CYFD that his ex-partner was not capable of being a mother. Fiero explained that offenders were aware that their victims were scared of someone taking their kids away.
An advocate unit director, Jessie Fiero, has claimed that everything begins with signs of monitoring, such as checking one’s phone, which then becomes controlling.
