TOPEKA, Kan. - On July 3, 2008, Christie Brungardt received news that is every mother's worst nightmare. Her 25-year-old daughter, Jana Mackey, a KU law student, had been killed by her daughter's ex-boyfriend in Lawrence.
Jana was well-known throughout Kansas for her advocacy for women's rights. A Hays native, Jana had spent years volunteering to aid victims of sexual assault and domestic violence in Topeka and Lawrence. She received her bachelor's degree in Women's Studies from KU and was an active participant in KU's Commission on the Status of Women. Jana also served as one of the youngest lobbyists at the Kansas State Capitol for the National Organization for Women.
On Thursday, more than a year after Jana's murder, about 50 people attended a news conference at the Topeka YMCA. Attendees heard Christie Brungardt and Jana's stepfather, Curt Brungardt, both also of Hays, announce the roll-out of Jana's Campaign to Stop Domestic Violence.
Realizing that other women continue to suffer the same tragic fate as their daughter, the Brungardts believe that much more must be done to adequately protect women in Kansas.
Jana MackeyThe two said that Jana's Campaign will advocate for changes in Kansas law in hopes of reducing domestic violence. During this coming Kansas legislative session, Jana's Campaign will be encouraging lawmakers to support the 'domestic violence tag bill.'
The intention of the legislation is prevention and early detection. By appropriately responding to domestic cases before the violence escalates, advocates believe that lives will be saved.
The new law will require that a domestic violence tag to be placed on all legal documents associated with a criminal act that is based on an intimate relationship. Jana's Campaign believes that having this DV tag is key to preventing offenders from repeating their crimes. The legislation also advocates the importance of having sanctions put in place against the offenders before violence escalates. To prevent cases from falling between the cracks, the bill also requires the courts to order assessments of the domestic violence offenders and recommend interventions and treatments.
The legislation, introduced last session as House Bill 2335, is expected to be considered during the 2010 session, which starts next month.
The ultimate hope is that more women will be protected and fewer domestic murders will result.
According to the Kansas Bureau of Investigations, 19 adults and 14 children lost their lives in domestic violence related homicides in Kansas in 2008 alone.
The Kansas Coalition Against Sexual and Domestic Violence offered these additional statistics:
- Domestic violence is the leading cause of injury to women between the ages of 15 and 44.
- Pregnant and recently pregnant women are more likely to be victims of homicide than to die of any other cause.
- Approximately one in five female high school students reports being physically and/or sexually abused by a dating partner.
- Men who batter their spouses or partners physically abuse their children at a seven times higher rate than non-battering men and they sexually abuse their children at a six times higher rate than non-battering men.
- Rape remains the most dramatically underreported crime. 70-84% of rapes are not reported to law enforcement.
- Most rapes are perpetrated by someone known and trusted by the victim. In 2002, in Kansas, the offender knew the victim in at least 71.3% of the reported cases.
- Women with disabilities have identified issues of violence and abuse as the highest health priority.
- Batterers not only use physical and sexual violence to control their victim, they use economic control as well. One method of economic control is sabotage of employment and employment-related activities. An abuser may start fights before key events or interviews, threaten or harass her at work, prevent her from going to work or school, give her visible bruises or injuries to make her embarrassed to go to interviews or classes, flatten car tires, destroy bus passes, kidnap or threaten to kidnap the children, or fail to follow through with promised childcare or transportation.
- On average, more than three women are murdered by their husbands or boyfriends in this country every day.
Kansas Attorney General Steve Six recently appointed Curt and Christie Brungardt as co-chairs of the Kansas Domestic Violence Batterers Intervention Program Advisory Board.
Both Christie and Curt work in leadership studies at Fort Hays State University in Hays, Kansas. Christie's expertise includes women and leadership and women's studies, while Curt specializes in political leadership, social change, and community organizing. The Brungardts also work with community-based advocacy groups to ensure that sexual assault victims, especially in rural areas, have access to specialized care in their local communities.
The Brungardts have been meeting with groups across Kansas, talking with Kansans about the importance of the upcoming legislation. Their next speaking engagement is scheduled for January 30, 2010, in Hays. Click here for more info about Jana's Campaign.
"We believe it is our personal responsibility to use the story of Jana's life and the story of her death to help reduce violence against women," Christie Brungardt said.
"It is our deep desire to turn this tragedy into something positive."
If you or someone you know is struggling with abuse, please seek assistance from law enforcement or a domestic violence program. You can contact 1-888-END-ABUSE for assistance.
Christie Brungardt speaking at Thursday's kick-off event.
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