"Crime After Crime"

     There used to be a time when woman were regarded as not being an asset to society. Many, then and now, viewed woman as only being good for certain things; such as being wives, mothers and servants. There was no real place for a woman back then. I grew up in the 80's and witnessed this for my very own eyes. My mother came here from Puerto Rico when she was 16 years old. She was bright in school but had very little friends. She was very shy, very frail and had no idea who she was. That's right, identity is not given to you at birth, it's learned. She was married at just 19 years old, to my father. My father was an alcoholic, he was obsessive controlling and spent most of his life mentally and physically abusing my mother. Back in the 80's living in the Bronx, people didn't really care for women. Law enforcement wasn't exactly jumping out with enthusiasm ready to save the weak wife who apparently wasn't doing something right in the household. I remember my mother crying, trying to figure out how to escape with her two young daughters. There weren't ad campaigns against women suffering from domestic violence, laws for domestic violence were either non existent, or not enforced. There weren't any magazines, commercials movies speaking of such thing. The Internet didn't exist, there wasn't a hot line you can call, a counselor you can speak with, 311 did not exist. My mother went to the church. She went to confession and confessed as if her being abused was either her fault or something to be ashamed about. The answer she received was that the church didn't believe in divorce and perhaps if she could ask the court for an annulment, then maybe she will be forgiven.

      Although we have progressed and the media is well aware of domestic abuse and law enforcement has tightened laws against domestic violence there are still ways to go. It is imperative that we continue to educate women and change our culture of our society. It used to be that only people of power, money and fame were the only ones allowd to send a message. Alternative media has broken the boundaries of who can have a voice. It is extremely vital in today's society. Many forms of Alternative media sometimes make it to main media or if not still reach tens of thousands of people. Our message through our eyes has much more meaning than some gtime executive controlling the message.

     One great example of this is a independent film is called "Crime After Crime". It is a documentary about a woman who was convicted for 1st degree murder and sentenced for 25 years to life in prison because her mother asked a few men to beat up her daughter's then significant other, after she dealt with years of physical abuse and forced prostitution. The situation got out of control and ended in murder.

   Films such as these are crucial to raising awareness. They not only shed light to an ever growing problem, they bring some sort of comfort in knowing that others suffer from the same abuse. This films although often extremely tragic also portray a sense of hope. It is no secret that violence against women is prevalent in today's society as it was many years ago, but through the brave acts of these film makers women no longer have to live in silence.