When it comes to stopping domestic violence and punishing perpetrators, Niagara County has come a long way in the 20 years since Lockport resident Tina Marie Boyer was stabbed and strangled to death by her ex-boyfriend in 2004. That’s clear in “20 Years and Counting,” the Gazette’s recently published three-part series examining social and legal responses to domestic violence in our community.
It’s also clear that we still have a ways to go, on both the prevention front and the justice front.
The shift in understanding of domestic violence as violent crime has been painfully gradual, not just in our community but across the United States and around the world. Though domestic violence homicides been a regular occurrence forever, the Niagara County Sheriff’s Office did not begin tracking them until 1994. Since then, 34 domestic violence homicides have been recorded in the county — including three in 2024 alone, according to District Attorney Brian Seaman.
Sheriff Michael Filicetti recalls that when he became a deputy in 1993, law enforcement simply did not view domestic violence the same way as it viewed other crime; the gist of policing then was to “mediate and separate.” A decade later, when Boyer was killed, treating domestic violence as violent crime was still a relatively new concept. Today, finally, law enforcement is seeing acts of domestic violence exactly as they are: criminal behavior for which there is no good explanation or excuse.
Hand in hand with that changed outlook, human service providers including the YWCA of the Niagara Frontier have stepped up their game. In 2004, the YWCA — the local pioneer in domestic violence response — maintained a 24/7 hotline number, a modest domestic violence shelter and a handful of “transitional housing” apartments in addition to providing counseling and advocacy services for victims. Twenty years later, there’s significantly more public recognition of domestic violence as criminal behavior, and there’s a lot more supportive housing for women and their children fleeing an abuser — although there’s still not enough, judging from the size of the present wait list for openings at the YWCA’s Carolyn’s House, and the lack of openings in other organizations’ safe shelters.
As for instances of non-lethal domestic violence in Niagara County, there does not appear to be a trend, upward or downward, that tells a story. In 2004, the year Boyer was killed, the county fielded a total of 3,512 domestic violence incident reports. In 2023, the number was 2,807, but there’s no “good” that can be read into the lower number. According to Victim Services coordinator Stacy Suess the number of reported incidents fluctuates from year to year, up then down, up again, down again, for no apparent reason. To Suess, a lower number of incident reports suggests a higher number of victims, usually women, were reluctant to report crimes against them for whatever reason.
So, where do we go from here?
Certainly, there is room for improvement in New York State’s recently enacted criminal justice reforms, bail and discovery (evidence sharing) reforms particularly, that have resulted in the justice system’s hands being tied as it tries to protect survivors of domestic violence from their abusers.
If a crime or crimes against a spouse or companion don’t rise to the violent-felony level — and they very often don’t — then holding the accused in lieu of bail is not an option. In terms of discovery during court proceedings, Seaman and other lead prosecutors across the state have pointed out, mandatory disclosure of witnesses’ names and contact information to the accused paves the way to witness intimidation and, ultimately, undoing of the state’s case against the accused.
Given all that’s known about domestic violence, about “petty” crimes being the tip of the iceberg and the victims’ escape route being so narrow, not making exceptions for this class of crime, this class of defendant, defies common sense — and mocks the concept of “justice” for survivors.
There’s work to be done on behalf of survivors outside the criminal justice system as well. A lack of affordable housing is one of the biggest impediments to a spouse or companion escaping their abuser. Another one is emotion: shame over one’s situation, fear of moving on, fear of retaliation.
When it comes to affordable housing, there’s not much any one person can do to hasten its development. Even professional advocates, with the power of their organizations behind them, recognize this as the toughest nut to crack. But, regarding those scary emotions, there’s something every one of us can do to help. We can keep spreading the word individually, and through our social networks, that domestic violence is violent, criminal behavior for which there is no justification; that such crimes should be reported to law enforcement; and that right here in our community there are people and places equipped to assist the abused getting away from their abuser.
The YWCA’s 24/7 domestic violence hotline number is 716-433-6716. Pass it on.