A panel of social workers, community advocates, city attorneys and county attorneys celebrated the 30th anniversary of the Domestic Abuse Service Center (DASC) at a panel in Minneapolis on Oct. 29

For no cost, residents threatened with violence or experiencing abuse from a partner or former partner in Hennepin County can call 612-348-5073 or head on site to LL06540 at the lower level of the Hennepin County Government Center.

DASC is a full-service resource for community advocacy, social services, and legal consultation to those experiencing violence from a partner or former partner. These service include:

  • Keeping your home or work address private in court filings;
  • Time off work to testify without your boss disciplining you;
  • Ending a rental lease without penalty if you experience domestic violence;
  • Confidentially requesting an offender HIV test if you are a victim of sexual violence;
  • A free sexual assault exam if you are a victim of sexual violence;
  • A safe waiting area from the defendant at court.

As a public defender Mary Moriarty represented many defendants on domestic violence cases. As Hennepin County Attorney, Moriarty has taken a reform-minded approach to cases involving relationship violence. 

“One of the things I pay very close attention to are the D.V. homicides that we have,” Moriarty said. “And we unfortunately had a number of them.”

In Minnesota, more people in 2023 were killed by their current or former partner than at any time over three decades, according to a report by Violence Free Minnesota, an advocacy organization working to end relationship abuse. The same data reveals that 12 people died this year due to intimate partner violence.

“I think about how we could have prevented this,” Moriarty said. “How could we create an environment where women or men who are being harmed in a relationship can feel that they can come forward and get what they need?

“Because I know the criminal legal system has not always, and continues not to offer what people necessarily need,” Moriarty said. 

Accomplishment liability and failure to protect laws often lure victims away from their abusers and behind bars. For example, of 636 people surveyed, three out of four women in California prison were abused in the year before their offense, according to a report from the Marshall Project.

Ciri Lokenscard, director at DASC, outlined options for those experiencing violence, harassment, or stalking from a current or former partner. Calling links victims with social workers who help guide them throughout the application process.

“What that looks like is, they get connected with an advocate at their appointment date and time. The advocate provides all of the services over the phone,” Lokenscard said. “If someone wants to file an Order for Protection the advocate is walking them through and filling out the paper with the individual.”

This is a good option for abuse victims who may have logistical issues that conflict with attending DASC in person. “Victim survivors no longer have to take time off of work, drive downtown, pay for parking, and find child care in order to access our services,” Lokenscard said.

If a victim goes to DASC in person, there are many additional services. “We do have a playroom. We never want child care to be a barrier to accessing our services, Lokenscard said. “It’s also a space as well if a victim survivor comes to our center with presenting injuries to avoid being around everyone in the lobby.”

Ceci Olson, a domestic violence community navigator at the Minneapolis Police 4th Precinct, works as a resource for domestic violence victims with the MPD on the city’s North Side. After a 9-1-1 call is made regarding domestic violence, Olson is the first point of contact. She often acts as a liaison between victims and the police department.

Olsen described her job as “being a voice for victims in the department, trying to make sure that their cases are being investigated, looked at, and at least told what is happening with them. Whether a case is being charged or not, they’re at least being told what is happening,” Olsen said.

Olsen’s job isn’t limited to acting as an information buffer between victims and police. She also has legal experience. “If they are looking for protection orders, I’m equipped to file protection orders and go to court and assist victims through family court, civil court and criminal court. 

“I also help significantly with investigation and prosecution of these cases, especially with the city attorney’s office. I have access to all of the reports, and obviously, being embedded in the department, I have access to the investigators that are assigned to the cases.”

Community members gave Olsen feedback on the same law enforcement that Moriarty promised to reform after the murder of George Floyd. “It helps open their eyes to a different side of policing,” Olsen said. “They tell me all the time, ‘I’d never thought I’d walk into a precinct.’”

It’s not just protection orders that protect people from their abusers. Advocates for domestic violence victims have been calling for red flag laws. 

With victims, sometimes there can be a family member. The Extreme Risk Protection Order (ERPO), or red flag law, went into effect in January that allowed family members, partners, and law enforcement to petition judges to temporarily seize guns from people considered dangerous. 

Susan Berkovitz threatened, stalked, and harassed her cousin, Shelly Joseph-Kordell, for a year. Berkovitz opened fire at the Hennepin County Government Center during a harassment case hearing. Joseph-Kordell was killed. 

“After all of the stalking and harassment, Shelley absolutely would’ve utilized a gun violence protection order against Susan if they’d been available,” Rachel Joseph, a gun safety advocate, told The Trace.

“You can get firearm removal,” Rena Alexander, an attorney with the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office, said regarding the benefits of an ERPO. “The biggest advantage to an Extreme Protection Order is that it creates a process for law enforcement to one, have to accept the firearms when they’re being surrendered, and two, it creates a process for being able to get a search warrant to go and obtain firearms.” 

“That is a process that doesn’t exist in the order for protection process,” Alexander added.

Clint Combs welcomes reader responses to ccombs@spokesman-recorder.com.