Author Topic: New Texas law expands punishment for assaulting pregnant women  (Read 447 times)

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New Texas law expands punishment for assaulting pregnant women
« on: November 08, 2019, 12:32:47 pm »
Houston Chronicle by Samantha Ketterer 11/4/2019

Genia Robinson, a victim of domestic abuse when she was pregnant with another man, with her husband Michael Mamou and one year old daughter Amia Estes at the Jesse Jones park Friday, Nov. 1, 2019 in Humble, TX.
2of10Genia Robinson, a victim of domestic abuse when she was pregnant with another man, with her husband Michael Mamou and one year old daughter Amia Estes at the Jesse Jones park Friday, Nov. 1, 2019 in Humble, TX.Photo: Michael Wyke / Contributor
Genia Robinson, a victim of domestic abuse when she was pregnant with another man, with her husband Michael Mamou and one year old daughter Amia Estes at the Jesse Jones park Friday, Nov. 1, 2019 in Humble, TX.
3of10Genia Robinson, a victim of domestic abuse when she was pregnant with another man, with her husband Michael Mamou and one year old daughter Amia Estes at the Jesse Jones park Friday, Nov. 1, 2019 in Humble, TX.Photo: Michael Wyke / Contributor

Genia Robinson thought her pregnancies might stop the physical abuse. They didn’t.

The violence was persistent, she said, and the perpetrators didn’t seem to care about the life growing inside her. It felt unavoidable — almost like a theme — occurring as she carried three of her four children.

“When you get knocked down so many times, you just guard your stomach,” the 28-year-old Houstonian said.

Robinson never reported the abuse, which isn’t uncommon for domestic violence survivors. Just 56 percent of people reported nonfatal domestic violence situations over a 10-year period, according to the Bureau of Justice Statistics. And if she had called the police, a conviction would have only resulted in up to a year in jail for a misdemeanor assault charge.

She’s reassured to hear that it’s different now, she said. Under a new Texas law that makes it a felony to assault a pregnant woman, convicted abusers could receive between two and 10 years in prison for the crime.

More: https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/houston/article/New-Texas-law-expands-punishment-for-assaulting-14807833.php