For Immediate Release: May 9, 2008
Contact: Karen Clifton
Phone: (559) 445-5532

Fresno, CA – With Mother’s Day weekend upon us, Assemblymember Juan Arambula (D-Fresno) announced new legislation today that seeks to raise funds to support domestic violence education and prevention programs aimed at protecting women who do not have access to such programs.

Assembly Bill (AB) 2405, authored by Assemblymember Arambula, will establish a funding mechanism for domestic violence prevention programs that focus on assisting immigrants, refugees or those living in rural communities.  Specifically, AB 2405 will allow the county Board of Supervisors to authorize an additional fine, of no more than $250, on batters convicted of domestic violence crimes.

Arambula stated that the death of May Yang, a Hmong Refugee, last year highlighted the growing number of domestic violence cases in Refugee and immigrant communities in the Central Valley. Yang was shot by her estranged husband who then turned the gun on himself.

“Many of these immigrant and refugee women do not report domestic violence abuse for fear of losing the support of family members or losing their children,” said Assemblymember Arambula.  “And unfortunately many of them do not have the knowledge of how to get away from a violent relationship.”

According to a study by the California Department of Health Services, about 620,000 women experience domestic violence every year.  That same study also found that domestic violence occurred in more than 436,000 households every year, potentially exposing more than 916,000 children to violence in the home.

These numbers may be higher because many immigrant and refugee women do not report domestic violence or do not have the resources to receive help with a relationship that has turned violent Arambula stated.

“Immigrants and rural communities are drastically underserved for resources to deal with domestic violence abuse,” said Assemblymember Arambula.  “Language barriers, access to help centers and lack of counseling all contribute to the huge obstacles these women face when trying to receive help for domestic violence. We cannot ignore this problem any longer.”

According to Arambula, AB 2405 would create more funding to help expand current programs or create new prevention programs that will help address social and cultural factors that contribute to domestic violence abuse.

AB 2405 just recently passed the Assembly Public Safety Committee with bipartisan and unanimous consent.  The bill will now be heard on the Assembly Floor.