Spouse beaters, beware!

To curb the rising incidence of domestic violence in the Commonwealth, Gov. Juan N. Babauta yesterday signed the bill that would criminalize domestic abuse, along with mandatory jail terms for violators.

The new measure also provides that there would be no suspension of sentence and that a violator’s sentence may be increased if children witness the abuse incident.

In a ceremony held yesterday morning, the governor signed into law House Bill 14-5, with an eye toward providing more protection to victims of domestic abuse and appropriate penalties to the abusers.

The Domestic Violence Criminal Act, which includes the crime of stalking to the Commonwealth Criminal Code, would also provide escalating penalties for repeat offenders and require law enforcement officers to advise and assist victims in providing medical attention and emergency shelter.

Under the measure, added to the existing statute are misdemeanor cases that include interference with domestic violence report, unlawful contact, violation of order protection, duties of law enforcers, notification to victims of domestic violence, mandatory arrest, course of conduct or repeated acts, bail and conditions of release in domestic violence cases, and mandatory sentencing.

The new measure would also amend 6 CMC Section 4113 to prohibit the court from granting suspended imposition of sentence on any defendants convicted of a crime involving domestic violence. Also, the measure provides protection of the confidentiality of communication between the victim and her/his counselor.

“The Domestic Violence Criminal Act recognizes that domestic violence is a problem here in the Commonwealth and provides criminal sanctions and penalties for acts of domestic violence. The Act criminalizes both domestic violence and its close kin—stalking—something that the CNMI legislature has been trying to pass since the 9th legislative session,” said the governor.

He added that the bill does not only protect the spouse who is abused, but it recognizes the silent victims of domestic violence—the children (16 and under) and those who live in an abusive environment.

Babauta said children suffer psychologically and emotionally when they witness domestic violence. As a result of that learned behavior, many of them try to solve their problems using violence, oftentimes growing up to become abusers and susceptible to abuse.

The Act revises current statutes and supplements the Code to add some new provisions, to give our judges the tools to fashion appropriate bail and probation conditions to protect victims from those who abuse them on a long-term basis. It codifies the policy of mandatory arrest, to help break the inter-generational cycle of violence by letting children see police come and take the perpetrator away in handcuffs. It provides new offenses designed to criminalize unlawful contact, stalking, interference with attempts to report domestic violence crimes, and violating orders of protections.

The stalking portion of the bill criminalizes the non-consensual contact with a person, including unwanted phone calls, showing up at the victim’s place or work uninvited, and with the intent to intimidate or harass the victim.