TNA IN THE NEWS: Monserrate Case Fuels Women’s Fight for Justice
September 21, 2009
by The New Agenda
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As the trial of NY State Senator Hiram Monserrate gets underway today, The New Agenda and NOW NY are featured in an article in the Legislative Gazette, an Albany newspaper.
The article cites the efforts of TNA and NOW NY members to take action and speak out on this case:
Last Wednesday, The New Agenda, in conjunction with NOW-NYS, sent out an “action alert” to its members urging them to write or call state Supreme Court Justice William M. Erlbaum regarding Monserrate’s trial. The alert asked women to “let him know how important it is that perpetrators of violence against women be punished.”
The article also sheds light on Monserrate’s former PR firm tried to intimidate both TNA and NOW NY into not speaking out:
While The New Agenda and NOW-NYS are working together to encourage women to voice their opinions to the judge, both Siskind and Pappas said that earlier in the year they had both been contacted by a public relations firm hired by Monserrate and asked to keep their views to themselves.
“People from his camp have called women’s rights groups and pressured them,” said Pappas. “And basically twisted our arms to be silent.”
Pappas said they were “calling with abusive phone calls, proclaiming that we were wrong and that we needed to be quiet about this.”
“I myself had a young man call me from a PR firm that Monserrate had hired to tell me that I was wrong,” said Pappas. “He wanted to know what we were going to do — he wanted to be informed of what we were going to do in terms of our actions.”
Pappas said she responded by saying, “You’re paid by Monserrate, why would I give you any information?”
Siskind said “it’s typical in domestic violence cases for victims to be intimidated into not being a part of the prosecution — and we don’t know what’s going on behind the scenes between Monserrate and his ex-girlfriend.”
“Monserrate’s PR firm had reached out to the New Agenda, and I know they did the same to NOW,” said Siskind. “They tried to silence any dissent.”
You can read the entire story here.
Amy-Thank you! Thank you! for sticking with this and rallying women speak out. Delusional statements such as those of Monserrate are terrifying. In his mind he has erased what he did and the woman to whom he did it! And he is angry because he is not believed.
The trial should be short. Who is bringing the charges–the state of NY? The woman who was attacked does not have to bring charges, does she?
Did I write “the trial should be short”? I heard at least a week to choose a jury.
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