Blumenthal Urges More Protections for Victims of Domestic Violence at Judiciary Committee Hearing

[WASHINGTON, D.C.] – Today, U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, called for more protections for victims of domestic violence during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing.

During the nominations hearing, Blumenthal questioned the nominee to serve as Director of the Office on Violence Against Women at the U.S. Department of Justice, Rosemarie Hidalgo, about how the office would respond to the need for more enforcement of protective orders and more protections for victims and survivors of domestic violence.

In the exchange, Blumenthal cited the recent murder of Milford mother Julie Minogue at the hands of her ex-partner as an example of why there needs to be more resources, support and recourse for victims of domestic violence.

“Yet we still have this scourge of domestic violence. Most recently and most publicly, the death of a young woman, Julie Minogue, in Milford, Connecticut. I went to the vigil for her just last Sunday, [she was] killed by an intimate partner who was under a protective order at various points. She literally pleaded for help to the police department. Unfortunately for whatever reason, the warrant was not reissued and her death happened. I guess my question to you is, how do we respond to the need for more enforcement of orders and protections when there is that moment of crisis and rage and threat and danger to someone like Julie Minogue?” Blumenthal said.

Video of Blumenthal’s remarks is available here. The full text of Blumenthal’s remarks and exchange with Hidalgo below.

U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal: Thank you. Ms. Hidalgo, thank you for your extraordinary work on behalf of survivors and victims, your work on VAWA, its reauthorization, your work on providing funding and throughout your career. When I was attorney general of my state, I formed an organization called Men Against Domestic Violence, Men Make a Difference. And I think it is on all of us, men and women alike. It’s not a woman’s problem or issue. Domestic violence is all of our responsibility and the funding for organizations that work on this issue is vital. $3.4 million came to Connecticut, funding organizations like the Connecticut Coalition Against Domestic Violence and the Connecticut Alliance to End Sexual Violence. With that help, we have 24-hour staffing in all of our domestic violence shelters and we have stronger systems to apply and implement and enforce civil restraining orders and protective orders against abusers. And yet, and yet we still have this scourge of domestic violence. Most recently and most publicly, the death of a young woman, Julie Minogue, in Milford, Connecticut. I went to the vigil for her just last Sunday, killed by an intimate partner who was under a protective order at various points. She literally pleaded for help to the police department. Unfortunately for whatever reason, the warrant was not reissued and her death happened. I guess my question to you is, how do we respond to the need for more enforcement of orders and protections when there is that moment of crisis and rage and threat and danger to someone like Julie Minogue?

Rosemarie Hidalgo: Thank you Senator Blumenthal for your commitment to these issues and for your question. And my heart goes out to her family and friends and community. And I think you’re exactly right Senator. As you noted, while we’ve made a lot of progress through VAWA, there’s still a lot further to go. And I think one of the key aspects of the work through the Office of Violence Against Women in implementing VAWA is to continue to strengthen what’s known as a coordinated community response of law enforcement, but also with victim service providers, community organizations, courts, prosecutors, health care providers, and others who can really help create different pathways to safety for those who may be too afraid to come forward. So I think we have to continue to strengthen those efforts, strengthen prevention and strengthen training. Training is support for law enforcement on promising practices, on trauma informed approaches that are victim centered, and just to continue nationally as well to share the innovation and the ways in which we can make sure that law enforcement departments develop specialized units as well with the expertise to assess lethality and to make sure that individuals can be connected to critical services.

Blumenthal: There’s an ongoing investigation of the Minogue case and we can’t draw any final conclusions until that investigation is complete, but I would like your commitment that you will review it and perhaps indicate us how it’s an example of where we need to strengthen the system, what lessons we can learn from it, and how Connecticut can improve its system for better protecting survivors and victims of domestic violence.

Hidalgo: Thank you Senator Blumenthal. As you note, issues of fatality reviews are so critical to continue to bring out the lessons learned. And if I’m fortunate enough to be confirmed to the Office of Violence Against Women, I’ll look forward to strengthen the ability of every jurisdiction to conduct fatality reviews and to do a lot more upfront with lethality assessments and with services and prevention to try and prevent these kinds of horrific cases. So if I’m fortunate to be confirmed, I look forward to engaging with you and other members of the Senate Judiciary Committee to advance those goals.

Blumenthal: Thank you. Thanks Mr. Chairman.

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