Mary Davidson

I am a survivor of domestic violence. My son and I fled an offender in the night under the advisement of police, who refused to press charges. The next day, I was granted a temporary domestic violence restraining order of protection, which was made ‘permanent’ twice. It is incredibly difficult to renew ‘permanent’ restraining orders as it is, and the third renewal was denied. That denial immediately resulted in harassment from the offender. Restraining orders are one of the only protections a victim can enlist at the most dangerous time in a relationship; leaving it. It is absolutely critical that domestic violence restraining orders be strengthened and made available when needed. It is dangerous and nearly impossible to have an offender charged with a crime prior to receiving this protection from the court.