Survivors deserve Shaheen in Congress
October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month, a reminder that abuse isn’t something that happens somewhere else. Last year, New Hampshire’s 12 crisis centers served 12,188 survivors of domestic and sexual violence, who spent 26,658 nights in emergency shelter. About one in four New Hampshire women have been sexually assaulted.
When I think about who will stand up for women, girls,and survivors in Congress, I look at the record. Stefany Shaheen’s record is long and public. Gov. John Lynch appointed her to chair the state’s Commission on the Status of Women. As chair of the Portsmouth Police Commission, she oversaw the department that runs New Hampshire’s Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, which now fields up to 220 reports of online child exploitation every month. She worked on de-escalation training and community policing, which shapes how officers respond when someone calls for help from inside their own home.
What do we know about Anthony DiLorenzo’s commitment to women and girls? His 21-point agenda mentions women exactly once, to “protect women’s sports and locker rooms.” That says almost nothing.
Survivors deserve a representative who has already shown up for them, not one we have to guess about. This Domestic Violence Awareness Month, I’m voting for Stefany Shaheen, and I urge my neighbors to do the same.