 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE September 4, 2026 Contact: Nicole KiprilovPhone: 347-409-4635Email: Press@SarithaForNewYork.com Violence Against Women Rising and State’s Domestic Violence Hotline Still Goes Unanswered One in Five Times, Former Prosecutor Notes |
| New York – Crime-fighting New York State attorney general candidate Saritha Komatireddy, who will lock up repeat offenders, provide residential treatment for the homeless, and root out fraud, today called the state’s restoration of $36 million in funding for rape crisis programs, domestic violence providers, and child advocacy centers, a welcome start, but nowhere near sufficient to protect New York women. “Restoring funding that never should have been cut is just a start,” Ms. Komatireddy, a mother of four, said. “Violence against women has risen dramatically under AG James, and the state’s domestic violence hotline still goes unanswered 20 percent of the time. That’s simply not good enough. When I am attorney general, victims of crimes will always come first.” Ms. Komatireddy, a former award-winning federal prosecutor who spent more than a decade in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York prosecuting ISIS and al Qaeda terrorists, and served as Chief of Staff of the Drug Enforcement Administration, said the deeper failure is one of enforcement. “Shelters and hotlines protect women after the danger arrives,” she noted. Prosecution is what stops abusers.” “ Domestic violence cases are hard. Victims are frightened. Witnesses live in the same house as the offender. And the catch-and-release policies that AG James has championed mean that even when attackers are arrested, they can come back home in an hour. Local prosecutors and police need a partner with resources and expertise, and for eight years they haven’t had one,” Ms. Komatireddy said. By every reporting measure – victim counts, protective orders, strangulation charges, hotline volume – domestic violence has been getting worse since 2020: There are more victims. Up from 31,480 to 44,300 in NYC (a 41% increase). Up from 47,547 to 55,314 in the rest of NYS (a 16% increase). More orders of protection. Up from 165,613 to 241,351 (a 46% increase). More offenders charged with strangulation. Up from 11,028 to 14,784 (an increase of 34%). More calls to hotlines. Up from 263,096 to 274,933 (an increase of 4%). “As your next Attorney General, I will work hand in hand with local law enforcement and district attorneys to ensure we prosecute these cases and hold offenders accountable. We should be doing so much better than this.” |
