October 13, 2011

COALITION HONORS REP. ROJAS FOR FIGHTING DOMESTIC VIOLENCE
New law protecting victims took effect Oct. 1

The Connecticut Coalition Against Domestic Violence recently honored state Representative Jason Rojas as a member of the coalition’s First 100 Connecticut Male Leaders Uniting for Change initiative.

Karen Jarmoc, the coalition’s interim executive director, said Thursday that Rep. Rojas is among the first leaders in Connecticut to make a commitment to ending domestic violence in the state.

“Jason is a great leader who is committed to helping our organization and its member programs as we work to educate and reshape the public understanding of domestic violence,” said Jarmoc, a former state representative from Enfield. “The First 100 men have committed to stand with us as we help make victims safer through heightened awareness and the preservation of core services.”

Rep. Rojas co-sponsored legislation enacted this year that strengthens laws concerning domestic violence.

“Stopping domestic violence along with protecting and supporting victims is an ongoing challenge,” Rep. Rojas said, noting that 30 percent of criminal court dockets involve domestic violence. “This year much of our focus was on improving law enforcement and victim services.”

Provisions in the new laws aimed at combating domestic violence include:

• Increasing access to restraining and protective orders
  
  
• Strengthening regulatory authority over bail bond agents and addressing “undercutting”
  
  
• Maintaining funding for 24/7 staffing at the state’s domestic violence emergency shelters
  
  
• Improving information sharing between state agencies
  
  
• Allowing victims who have experienced a pattern of threatening or stalking to request a restraining order and clarifies that people of any age, including teens, can request a restraining order to protect them from a partner who has subjected them to abuse
  
  
• Requiring offenders to surrender their firearms to police or sell them to a federally-licensed firearms dealer if the offender is barred from possessing them due to a restraining or protective order
  
  
• Providing restitution to the families of victims of domestic violence like that provided to families of other crime victims
  
  
• Fixing a contradiction in the statutes that exempts people in dating relationships from arrest when a domestic violence crime is alleged to have been committed, so that police have clear authority to make such arrests

Rep. Jason Rojas represents the 9th Assembly District, which includes parts of East Hartford, Glastonbury and Manchester.