Bree's Law / Ashley Flowers / 2020
Crime Junkie Podcast is a podcast dedicated to telling the stories or missing and murdered people. However, Crime Junkie Podcast came out with a special episode in honor of teen dating violence awareness month. This episode shares the story of Breanna Moore. Breanna was a 19 year old girl from Anchorage Alaska. Friends and Family described Breanna as a goofball whose personality drives people toward her. Breanna begins dating a local man a few years older than her named josh. Breanna’s parents had no reason to suspect anything, they knew Josh’s family and adored their relationship. Soon into the relationship Breanna begins to spend all her time with josh and less time with her friends and family. Everything is going great for Breanna until the morning of June 26 when her parents get a visit from the sheriff informing her parents that she had been killed. Breanna was murdered by her boyfriend josh by a single gunshot to the head. Little did Breanna’s family know Josh was a convicted felon with a track record stretching back years before they had met. Josh had abused his ex-girlfriend just months before dating Breanna but no one thought it was important to tell Breanna or her family. When it comes to violent crime Alaska is number one in the United States. 1 out of 3 teens report knowing someone who has experienced dating abuse. Domestic violence is surrounded by a cultural of silence and the parents of Breanna, Butch and Cindy have committed their lives to changing that in honor of their late daughter. The Moore family says that Breanna’s death was a call to action and with that they created Bree’s law. Now, because of Bree’s law dating violence awareness is being taught in grades 7-12 in every Alaska public school. This program informs students how to recognize warning signs and what to do when they see friends in violent relationships. Bree’s law is due to come back before the U.S government to be discussed as a national law sometime this year.
The education of dating violence is crucial in grade schools to inform boys and girls on the signs of abuse and what to do when they see those signs. According to a survey in 2015 9.5% of teens report experiencing dating violence and two years later in 2017, since being passed, this statistic has gone down by half. After the death of Breanna Moore, coworkers came forward about noticing bruises on Breanna but they didn’t know what to do, so instead they ignored it. Also, Breanna sisters told reporters hoe Breanna deleted her Facebook because Josh told her too but they didn’t see it as weird. Both of these are signs of an abusive relationship and knowing these signs could have saved Breanna life. Preventing domestic violence is not only recognizing signs but also knowing what to do once it is noticed. By implementing educational classes in grade schools, Bree’s law is an important step in saving the lives of women across the United States. As Breanna’s father says, “ don’t be afraid to save someone’s life”.
-AH
Comentarios