ALBANY – Last week, Sen. Charles Schumer announced he would request an additional $35 million be given to local law enforcement agencies to combat domestic violence.
In a conference call Thursday, Schumer said the $35 million would go to the Services, Training, Officers, Prosecutors (STOP) Grant program, which provides additional resources to local law enforcement and the courts in handling violent crimes against women.
The program was created by the Violence Against Women Act and provides funding for local officers and attorneys to specialize in investigating and prosecuting domestic violence cases.
Schumer’s office released new data gathered by the state recording the number of abuses sorted by region. According to the figures, there were 60,000 reported incidents of domestic violence in upstate New York and in Long Island last year. The senator said about 25,000 of those cases involved women being abused by their partners.
The Southern Tier accounted for about 7.5 percent of those incidents, with approximately 4,500 reports of domestic violence in 2008.
“If you look at the New York numbers, it is clear that we need to address this problem now more than ever,” said Schumer, “and to make sure that our law enforcement agencies have the resources they need, and that victims get the help they deserve.”
According to Chenango County Catholic Charities, as of January 2009 the Crime Victims Program has served 112 new clients while continuing services to 135 victims who sought aid in 2008.
The Crime Victims Program offers a range of services to victims of domestic violence in navigating the judicial, medical and social services systems, and to providing temporary safe housing for mothers and children.
Also since the year began, 46 individuals looking for refuge were assigned board in the Safe Dwelling Project, which provides emergency housing to abused victims.
Catholic Charities operates a 24-hour local domestic violence hotline at 336-1101. Victims can also contact Catholic Charities directly at 334-3532 with questions or concerns. To report a crime, the Chenango County Sheriff’s Office can be reached at 334-2000, but any emergency caller should just dial 911.
Schumer said domestic violence is a rising problem across the country and that abuse is not limited to just physical conflict or gender.
“Abuse can be emotional, sexual or economic and it can affect both women and men. Studies show that one in four women will be raped, assaulted by a partner, or become a victim of sexual or domestic violence at some point in their lifetime,” reported the Senator’s office.
Schumer also said that every year hundreds of thousands of men suffer from abusive relationships and violent situations.
He drew attention to numbers kept by the American Journal of Preventive Medicine where 30.5 percent of men younger than 55 and 26.5 percent of older men said they had been victims of domestic violence at some point in their lives.
“We must send an unequivocal message that violence against women and all domestic violence, has no place in our society,” he said
The senator is also supporting a five-year minimum sentence for those convicted of aggravated sexual abuse and is seeking health care reform that would prevent insurance companies from discriminating against women who have been victims of domestic violence.
The Security and Financial Empowerment (SAFE) Act protects women from being penalized by insurance companies for being abused. 
Schumer said that in Idaho, Mississippi, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota and Wyoming it is legal for health insurance companies to deny coverage or charge higher premiums for an applicant with a suspected history of domestic violence. 
The policies were adopted because companies believe that women involved with domestic violence will need more medical treatment over their lifetimes than the average person.