The tragic details have been slowly coming out—Harwick appears to have been strangled before she was thrown from a third-floor balcony at her Hollywood Hills apartment, the latter injury killing her, according to the LA medical examiner.
In the 2011 request for a restraining order, Harwick alleges physical abuse at the hands of Pursehouse that include choking, suffocation, pushing, kicking and punching. She also describes an incident in which she was pushed out of a car by Pursehouse on a freeway off-ramp.
The 2012 request claims Pursehouse broke into Harwick’s apartment complex multiple times, once smashing picture frames, another time taping dozens of flowers to her door. She also details threatening text messages and emails.
If the charges against Pursehouse are proven, they may point up a chilling reality: A restraining order can only do so much.
In any instance of a threatening ex-partner, one might assume, or hope, that being the object of such legal intervention would bring that person up short–that exposure of his (or her) inappropriate behavior to the legal system would enforce a cooling down period, maybe create space for acceptance that a relationship has ended.
But this is too often not what happens. It’s but one of many shortcomings that advocates for victims of domestic abuse describe when talking about the effective protections available to those in such relationships.
Often a “he said, she said” mentality prevails, and most cases require the testimony of the victim, which many are unwilling to provide—because they’re scared, because they’re worried of what their abuser might do if they don’t win, or simply because the nature of abusive relationships means victims often blame themselves: If I didn’t act this way, say this thing, forget to do that, he wouldn’t behave as he does. I can make it stop.
Traditional restraining orders—the kind that, in general, prohibit an abuser from coming near the person who sought the order—meanwhile, expire. They require victims to file them and report violations, and only work against those who fear law enforcement. And, well, in the end, they’re just a piece of paper. They aren’t ankle monitors, there’s no GPS capability attached.
A victim can call the police if the person against whom she’s been granted a restraining or no contact order shows up at her office—but he’s already shown up at her office. With nothing, physically, to stop him.
Again, the details of Harwick’s murder are still emerging, and we don’t know if her ex-boyfriend had a hand in her death.
All three measures would be huge improvements to the current system—so much so that it’s a wonder they aren’t already in place. “We want to push for laws to be changed in her honor so this doesn’t happen to anyone else,” Harwick’s friend Diana Arias said.
Health agencies, law enforcement and lawmakers need to get involved here—there’s simply no downside and plenty of up. The rest of us need to get angry and push them until they do.
Source : CNN