Diva Day for Domestic Violence Victims

By Gabriel Lorenzo

Women from all over the Bronx gathered to enjoy a free spa day at the Bronx Supreme Court in late October.  The event, held once a year, offers women the opportunity to enjoy many free services such as manicures, pedicure, massages, facials, and haircuts.

The event is held to raise awareness about domestic violence and to boost the self-esteem of battered women.

Rommy Pennella has been involved with the event for over a decade. “We want to be able to serve domestic violence victims, just give them a day of feeling great, raise their self esteem,” she said. “More and more people just keep coming back,” said Pennella. “The chamber has a lot of our members here who are business owners who literally closed their stores to come here and help out.”

Diva Spa President Charito Cisneros and Executive Director Rommy Pennella

Mitali Sarkar was there for a manicure. Sarkar said she had been a victim of domestic violence in the past and she thought it was important to teach abused women about their options. “When you’re in domestic violence you really don’t know about the situation until someone informs you,” she said. Sarkar said she had heard about the event from her former caseworker. She added, “It feels good, it feels like women are more important.”

A barber was added to the event after some men complained that they too are victims of domestic violence.  “At one point, it was Diva and Divo Spa Day,” said Pennella. However, the male turnout was low, said Pennella, adding that some men were not comfortable coming to an event where there would be battered women.

The dangers of domestic violence can be extreme. According to a Department of Justice, there were 144 domestic homicides in New York in 2013. In 87 of these cases, an intimate partner was the attacker. Other family members were involved in 57 attacks. Sixty-two of those domestic homicides occurred in New York City, 16 in the Bronx.

Overall, the Bronx has a disproportionately high number of domestic incidents. The Bronx makes up 17 percent of the city’s population, but 25 percent (196 of 789) of family-related homicides between 2000-2012 occurred in the borough.

The vast majority of domestic violence don’t end in death, but often with injury and interaction with the NYPD. According to the Mayor’s Office to Combat Domestic Violence, the NYPD responded to 280,531 domestic violence incidents in 2013, an average of over 765 per day. Last year, the city’s Domestic Violence Hotline had 99,719 calls, an average of more than 270 calls per day.

Many women don’t leave their abusive husbands because they fear becoming homeless. New Destiny Housing helps abused women find alternative homes. According to the organization, 31 percent of homeless families are due to domestic violence. With 7,630 charges of domestic violence in the Bronx, 2,289 of those victims went homeless. Unfortunately only 100 out of 28,000 supporting homes are set aside for domestic violence victims.