Olivia Proe
Almost a year ago, my sixth- grade teacher Aisha Fraser was murdered by her husband Lance Mason — a success- ful Cleveland politician and Wooster graduate. Her death rocked our community, but it didn’t come as a surprise. His abusive behaviors were public knowledge by 2014, and he was sentenced to two years in prison“. His status as a judge afforded him to serve nine months instead with the completion of an anger management course. Upon his release, he continued his political career with the endorsement of many Cleveland politicians, including women. He killed Ms. Fraser in Nov. 2018.
These tragic events inspired the creation of a bipartisan Ohio bill best known as “Aisha’s Law.” Introduced by Janine Boyd (D- Cleveland Heights), the proposed law has three parts. First, after a domestic violence incident, the victim would fill out a questionnaire that screens the level of danger of the situation. Second, both the victim and perpetrator would be referred to a community connections program, made up of police and advocates, who would be able to connect them to resources such as housing or rehabilitation. Finally, it would prohibit offenders to plead down violent felonies when they have prior violent felony convictions.
Almost a year ago, the Trump Administration quietly changed the definition of domestic violence. Though the prior defini- tion encapsulated a number of behaviors, including those that “intimidate, manipulate, humiliate, isolate, frighten, terrorize, coerce, threaten, blame, hurt, injure or wound someone,” the changed one simply limits domestic violence to “physical harm that constitutes a felony or misdemeanor.”
This change may seem small, but eliminating psychological and emotional abuse does immense harm to victims. Leaving these behaviors out of the definition of abuse endangers victims and enables their abusers. Not only are actions such as humiliation psychologically damaging, but they are also precursors to violence. Recognizing warning signs is essential to preventing the physical harm listed in the new definition. There were numerous warning signs long before Ms. Fraser’s tragic death — in fact, would she have been able to take the questionnaire proposed in Aisha’s Law, she would have answered 11 out of 11 questions indicating risk for homicide — and only four would have been necessary for her to be in a critical state. Had these red flags been heeded, she might still be alive today.
Yet, after almost a year of fighting, Ohio lawmakers have failed to pass this bill. Both lack of awareness and pushback from the Ohio state government have tabled what could be an essential piece of legislation. We cannot wait any longer to do something. According to the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, nearly 20 people per minute are physically abused by an intimate partner in the United States.
That’s more than 10 million victims a year.
There are lives that could be saved by a bill that is currently sitting in the offices of our legislators.
In the face of an unjust administration that is cutting protec- tions for the most vulnerable, we all have the moral responsibility to do our part in making the world a safer place for victims of abuse. I encourage those who are registered to vote in Ohio to contact our state representatives in support of Aisha’s Law.