Wilma is a domestic violence survivor.
She said she dealt with physical and mental abuse for 15 years. She eventually filed for divorce, and she said her husband had her arrested and thrown in jail on false charges.
Wilma, who declined to reveal her last name or her hometown, said her divorce proceedings were messy and required court appearances because there were children involved.
When she filed for divorce, Wilma said she told her employer about her personal life, asking the human resources department to keep the information confidential. From then on, Wilma said work was difficult.
“Everyone treated me like I had leprosy,” Wilma said, adding that she was eventually fired from her job as a store clerk despite good performance reviews.
Wilma is an example of someone who lives to tell about her experiences, and she shared her story at a press conference Friday. There, however, are many domestic violence victims who don’t live to tell their stories, such as Tiana Notice, who was allegedly stabbed to death by her ex-boyfriend last year.
Notice’s father, Alvin Notice, joined Wilma Friday at the press conference.
The high number of domestic violence deaths prompted House Speaker Christopher Donovan, D-Meriden, to establish a task force to come up with ways to improve how the state responds to domestic violence incidents. The task force’s work resulted in three sweeping domestic violence bills that touch on everything from education to creating a pilot program for the electronic monitoring of high-risk domestic violence offenders.
Wilma and Notice stood along side Donovan and others Friday to encourage lawmakers to pass the bills. The bills were passed by the House earlier this week and are expected to be approved by the Senate before the legislature adjourns May 5.
“It’s all on the Senate’s shoulders now,” said Sen. Andrea Stillman, D-Waterford. “We’ll do it.”
Also at Friday’s press conference was Richard Graziano, president and chief executive officer of The Hartford Courant and Fox 61. Graziano spoke about his assistant, Alice Morrin, who was slain by her husband in June.
“These are troubling times, and it’s really refreshing to see legislation that would make a difference,” Graziano said.