Who’s right? Who’s wrong? And how does it affect the kids?Figuring out family dynamics in custody cases can be tricky, but the Battered Women’s Justice Project (BWJP) in St. Paul …
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By TESHA M. CHRISTENSEN
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9/29/22
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Helpless and hopeless.That’s how Kelsey Kruse felt for years as she tried to co-parent with her ex and his wife, Brett and Sarah Hallow.And then one day, she got the call she was scared …
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By Tesha M. Christensen
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4/28/22
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At 25, Sarah* doesn’t speak to her dad. And she points the finger squarely at him and how he treated her before and after her parents’ divorce.She knows that people often blame mom when a …
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By TESHA M. CHRISTENSEN
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1/25/22
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Like many issues, domestic abuse situations have only been heightened by COVID-19. Jerrod Brown, a professor at Concordia University and program director for the Master of Arts degree in human …
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By Jan Willms
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11/30/21
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When Starr Jones* tells her story, people can’t believe this is happening in Minnesota. They can’t believe that the dad was investigated by child protection when their first daughter was …
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Broke.
Homeless.
And in danger of losing custody of her children.
That’s where Bonnie Roy found herself while trying to get a divorce in Minnesota 10 years ago.
Because of her own …
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By TESHA M. CHRISTENSEN
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10/2/20
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Editor's note: Due to the sensitive nature of this topic, this column by a local resident is being run anonymously.
Like most people who have experienced intimate partner violence, I was not …
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10/2/20
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Local and national staff, along with Carmen Yulín Cruz (mayor of San Juan, Puerto Rico), and Teresa Rodriguez, from Univision, who served as the emcee of Casa de Esperanza’s 35th Anniversary …
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By TESHA M. CHRISTENSEN
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7/29/20
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We are not believed about our own lives
Dear Editor:
Thank you for interviewing Leigh Ann Block and, presumably, believing her story. Unlike the lawyers, judges and social workers who cared …
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2/11/20
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DIVING DEEPER
Now in its 30th edition, the Femicide Report has a new name: the Intimate Partner Homicide Report coinciding with the renaming of the Minnesota Battered Women's Coalition to Violence …
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2/11/20
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Over the past 40-year history, the Minnesota Coalition for Battered Women (MCBW) has witnessed huge changes in how society thinks about domestic violence but there is still more work to be …
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By TESHA M. CHRISTENSEN
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2/11/20
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Mother warned officials ex-husband was dangerous before he killed child and himself
By TESHA M. CHRISTENSEN
Mikayla Olson Tester might be a happy 21-year-old woman today if the family court …
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By TESHA M. CHRISTENSEN
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12/29/19
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Abused for years by her dad and a troubled system, Renee and mom are finally free Renee and mother Nadine fought for some normalcy during her childhood despite her father's abuse. Today, they are …
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By TESHA M. CHRISTENSEN
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12/1/19
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Editor’s note: The text below was from a speech Nadine wrote and gave at two Twin Cities churches during Domestic Violence Awareness Month. We have used just her original first name and not her …
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12/1/19
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She finally left, but the abuse continues through court system In recognition of Domestic Violence Awareness month, the Messenger is launching a new series that seeks to puts a face on domestic abuse …
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By TESHA M. CHRISTENSEN
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11/8/19
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Domestic violence (also called intimate partner violence (IPV), domestic abuse or relationship abuse) is a pattern of behaviors used by one partner to maintain power and control over another partner …
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11/8/19
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ALLY is a beautiful, independent, charismatic woman who is a single mother and full-time student and paralegal.
However, her life wasn’t always like this.
She spent many years in a very …
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11/8/19
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