Status of Domestic Violence Protection In 2020

Photo by Sydney Sims on Unsplash

As January is National Stalking Awareness Month, I wanted to honor victims by reviewing past and present domestic violence laws, and current progress made in combatting it. It’s a known fact that the Trump Administration did not renew the Violence Against Women Act (VAMA) last year. That decision has already proven to be a short-sighted grave mistake on their part.

Domestic violence takes many forms, some more insidious than others. It can verbal, physical, or done with cyberstalking warfare. With all the technological breakthroughs in our society over the last several decades, cyberstalking has unfortunately become a booming industry for all types of predators. An example of this is “phishing” when someone opens an email that scams them out of their personal confidential information. This type usually preys on the elderly and wipes out their bank accounts and steals their identity.

In the case of a scorned ex-lover, cyberstalking takes on a whole new terrifying meaning. Alexis Moore, who is now one of three worldwide cyberstalking experts, endured twelve long years at the mercy of an ex. He physically abused her and cyberstalked both her and her immediate family. While Alexis did manage to survive with her life, she lost immeasurable things of value. Two of those things were her identity, which her ex stole, and the other her financial well being. Alexis was forced to declare bankruptcy as that was the last resort used to throw her highly skilled perpetrator off her trail. The last most important thing taken was her sense of security, independence, and peace of mind.

It took years of reporting to law enforcement, running, and using honed survival skills. Still, Alexis was finally able to obtain a permanent restraining order. Unfortunately, that’s also in jeopardy as her ex, who is in jail on unrelated charges, is STILL in the process of stalking her with the end goal of controlling her life. To find out how that story ends, you will have to wait for the book I wrote to be published. After all the years Alexis endured looking over shoulder, not sleeping or eating, and fearing for her life regularly, she still cannot get to heal. That’s true more than ever since her ex remains determined to own and control her even from his jail cell.