According to the Violence Policy Center, for decades Nevada has ranked among the worst states for the rate of women killed by men.

So what has to happen to bring that rate down?

That's this week on Nevada Week.

♪♪ -Support for Nevada Week is provided by Senator William H. Hernstadt and other supporters.

-Welcome to Nevada Week.

I'm Amber Renee Dixon.

October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month, and in Nevada nearly 4 in 10 women say they have experienced violence or stalking by a partner at some point in their lives.

According to the CDC, nationwide it's about 1 in 3 women.

With domestic violence deaths in Nevada running ahead of last year, at least one advocate is calling for a public review of every domestic violence death.

Joining us to discuss that measure and other methods aimed at reducing intimate partner violence in the state are Liz Ortenburger, CEO of SafeNest; April Green, Attorney at the Legal Aid Center of Southern Nevada; Linda Perez, CEO of the Shade Tree; and Elizabeth Abdur-Raheem, CEO of the Nevada Coalition to End Domestic and Sexual Violence.

Thank you all for joining us.

Elizabeth, I want to start with you.

Your coalition tracks every domestic violence death in the state.

Where does the count stand right now, and what are you seeing among those deaths?

Any patterns?

(Elizabeth Abdur-Raheem) We do.

We track the domestic violence homicides, specifically the intimate partner violence homicides.

So between partners.

And so far in 2026 as of August, we saw 43 homicides across the state; whereas, in all of 2025, we only saw 45 across the state.

Here in Clark County, there were 33 so far at the end of August.

We know that September was a deadly month, so those numbers are going to go up.

And last year, there were 40.

So we are seeing that we are exceeding the numbers of domestic violence homicides in 2026 compared to 2025.

The other thing that we are seeing is that each incident involves more people, and more people are being killed in each incident.

So not only are we having more incidents, but the incidents are more deadly.

We are also seeing this across the state.

So last year, outside of Washoe and Clark counties, there was only one other county that experienced a domestic violence homicide.

And so far in 2026, three other counties have already experienced domestic violence homicides.

So both here and across our state, it is becoming more deadly.

-Liz, SafeNest runs a 24-hour hotline and also a confidential domestic violence shelter.

What are you hearing on those calls?

What are you seeing as far as the need?

(Liz Ortenburger) Yeah.

I think it's important, while Elizabeth highlights intimate partner, that 40% of our clients are not in an intimate partner relationship.

It's family violence.

So while her number is 33, ours is 43 for domestic violence deaths across the county so far this year.

And I think it's an important sort of misnomer that domestic violence is between intimate partners.

Domestic violence is between people that have a relationship.

We are seeing the same thing.

I mean, SafeNest runs an absolutely jam-packed full shelter every single day of the year.

That's not changed.

We also see a very disjointed and disconnected system throughout the criminal legal system but also just within the service sector for survivors.

So there are things in Nevada that make it worse here that we're working to fix, but we are seeing largely that without some real change and some leadership, I think from our county commissioners, this is going to continue to be at epidemic levels that it is today.

-What are you wanting out of the county?

-Yeah.

We would really like the Clark County Commission to stop believing that the DV Subcommittee of the Criminal Justice Coordinating Council is the answer for looking at this large wicked problem.

We need a group looking at prevention, which includes the school district.

We need a group looking at protection, which includes groups like Linda's and I that are running hotlines that are on the front line with police doing this work, and we need groups looking at the empowerment phase of this: Where is the housing, where is the financial and economic justice, and where are the other pieces?

And the most dangerous place in Clark County for a woman and a girl is at home.

So we should be embarrassed by that, and we really need a commissioner to stand up and take the mantle and lead, not only with funding but also with community organizing.

-Linda, I see you nodding your head.

What are you thinking?

(Linda Perez) What we are seeing is the increase in numbers of really violent situations, so strangulations, the choking, guns in the home.

And also our intakes, we're seeing quite a few that are coming through that are being brought here and then being left by a boyfriend, a family member, or they were groomed to come here for other things and then it becomes a trafficking situation.

-April, what about from the legal side?

What are you seeing this year as far as demand?

(April Green) Demand is very high.

Our services are free of charge from the Legal Aid Center of Southern Nevada, and our family law department is called the Family Justice Project.

But the bottom line is that I have noticed this year, and I've been there over 23 years, that the perpetrators, the offending parent, the abusive parent, has become extremely emboldened.

No matter what crime they've committed or what kind of acts of violence, abuse, or neglect that they have committed, they are brazen to come to Family Court and ask for primary physical custody.

Forget joint custody, which is the preference, which, you know, we'd all like to believe that both parents are equally capable, but that's not the case when domestic violence and abuse is present.

And because of our laws, these defenses, these shenanigans and games are played in Family Court all day, every day.

And our job as domestic violence attorneys is to prevail on behalf of our clients and oftentimes the children to put the children in the home with a caring, nurturing, attentive parent.

But we have to jump through a lot of hoops, hurdles of lies, and fake text messages and other things that say, I'm not a problem; you are.

-Am I understand this correctly that there are laws in place that you think are allowing parents to request custody when on the surface it looks like they should not have any part of that?

-I would think if I have been convicted of DV battery several times, had several protection orders against me, have pages and pages of a criminal history as a perpetrator, I wouldn't be able to, as we used to say, fix my face to come into court and try to say this person keeps a messy house or they're not working and think I can prevail.

But that's my job.

I deal with that almost every day.

-I think another thing to talk about is that when people are allowed to plead down their case and then they take that into the Family Court, in talking about custody, right?

We know there's a case here in Clark County, and it happens all the time, where somebody is allowed to plead for misdemeanor domestic violence as a first offense over six times.

How can this be your first offense over six times?

And then April's trying to take this in and say this person should not be allowed to have full and joint custody of their children, and the judge is saying, Well, it was his first case, first, you know, misdemeanor, when that's not the actual reality of the situation.

People should not be allowed to plead down at that level continuously, over and over and over, and that's what's being allowed in the courts.

-And, April, so then do you say to the judge, No, this isn't the first time and I have proof, or are you not allowed to?

-In court, it plays out this way: If I had a conviction, then that's prima facie proof that the crime has occurred, the person has been found guilty.

And there is a presumption in my favor that the non-offending party that I represent should have physical custody of the children, but it's a rebuttable presumption.

So the highest level of proof that I could have is a conviction.

But when I have a dismissal because they've had a series, as Elizabeth said, of first-time, you know, DV battery, the Family Court to me doesn't really get into talking about first time, second time.

It then becomes what is called "he say, she say."

You say this happened, but ultimately they're now, most of them, the vast majority are dismissed with conditions.

So, "Your Honor, that was dismissed."

You know, that is what I have to deal with.

"That was dismissed."

"Yes, Miss Green.

You do have a dismissal."

And then it comes down to the facts--what she says happened, what he says happened--and then it's a, it's up to the trier of fact to determine whether the presumption against custody to the abuser was rebutted or not, and that will determine who gets custody.

And oftentimes it will wind up as joint physical custody, and now you have to co-parent with an abuser.

-And remember, none of this is happening the day I make the 9-1-1 call or the day I go into shelter or the day I call one of our hotlines.

This is taking six, twelve, sometimes longer months in which the abuser is typically out of custody, can be wreaking all kinds of havoc, and creating again an environment of fear.

And one of the places that Nevada has a serious lack of data is from arrest to arraignment to charge in the criminal system.

There is no clarity.

And there's no clarity of the number of plea-downs.

There's no clarity of how many witness no-shows.

There is so much happening inside this environment that we don't know, that we create laws that are working incrementally but we don't have the full picture because in Nevada the full picture isn't shared.

-What we call this in the field is the ripple effect of abuse.

So the ripple effect of abuse is when an abuser successfully transfers their abusive tactics back to the system and gets the system to become the abuser.

So we have to, as we're creating legislation and asking people to push forward legislation, be really aware that we are not becoming the abuser and supporting the abuser in their abusive tactics, because right now they are allowed to use the system as a tool of abuse.

-And, Linda, I want to bring you in because you can talk about the relationship between an abusive household and its impact on children.

What should people know when they are considering putting laws together?

-You know, thank you for bringing that up.

And, yes, as a survivor and growing up in a domestic violence home, that's the reality of someone growing up in that home.

That becomes normal to us, to the children.

And then that carries out through your adulthood and until you're able to recognize what's happening.

So for me it was generational cycles that I've been trying to break and what I've been seeing with our families in the shelter.

That's what we're focused on is looking at the whole family and seeing, when we have the children in here, how can we impact them with the little time that we have so that when they leave, they can choose differently.

-Linda, do you agree with Liz that Clark County needs to do more in this space of domestic violence?

-Oh, yeah, absolutely.

These are partners.

These are organizations that we all are feeling-- -What would you want them to do to begin with?

-I would want them to really look at the issue of domestic violence, sexual assault, human trafficking.

Really look at the needs, and, like Liz said, the systems are broken.

Our systems are broken.

We need more help when it comes to education for our judges, for all of the legal system, because when you think about the stats, think about your circle of family and friends or the circle of your associates, your networks, the people in these organizations that they have employees as well.

How many of those employees do you think are going through a situation like this?

-And Clark County disputes that it has not done enough.

It points to the strangulation exams that it is now funding, as well as the funding that it has provided for the Resiliency and Justice Center, which is where you're at, April, correct?

-Yes.

-And that is expanding.

When will that be opening the new complex, the Advocacy and Justice Center?

Is that right?

-Yes, that's right.

Complex.

-Complex.

-In January of this year.

-Okay.

We do need to fit in this public review of domestic violence fatality.

Where does this happen?

Does this happen in other states?

-Yeah.

So fatality review teams are common across the country, nearly everywhere they happen.

One of the things when we look at the NRS where we have problems is that our NRS is not very robust around domestic violence fatality review teams.

They happen under the Attorney General's Committee on Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault, but that committee is not allowed to look at any localities that have their own review team.

So Clark County has been said to have their own review team through UNLV that has not been operating in quite a while.

-Right, had one?

-Had one.

But because it's on the books, the state team can't look at Clark County reviews.

-We did reach out to Clark County to ask why that dissolved, when it dissolved, but did not get a response.

-But our NRS also doesn't handle a lot of things that would make people want to be cooperative around it.

It doesn't talk about immunity for people who participate in these teams.

It doesn't talk about privilege for people and the data that's being contributed to these teams.

It doesn't say who should be on the committee.

It says that the committee can ask for information and ask for interviews, but nobody is compelled to participate.

So we have all of these huge problems.

Whereas, when we look around the country, there are a lot of really robust laws and really robust systems.

So if we look at Indiana, right?

Indiana has an extremely robust system that starts with the local fatality review team, and the local-- the people who are involved in the fatalities right there in their community.

It's very robust about who sits on the team, about how often the team meets, and then those reports go to the statewide where they are, you know, put together, compiled, and that data is issued to the public in that way.

That means that if a community only had, say, one fatality, it would not break the confidentiality of that situation because we're putting it in this larger state context.

And then the larger state team, which also has very clearly listed who is on it is looking at the trends.

So on the local level, we're looking at the micro things that happen right here, and on the state level we're looking at the trends and we're looking at prevention and we're also advising the local teams.

And so this is a very robust practice that we see.

We also see a similar practice in Colorado.

-Liz, what do you want to find out from these reviews?

-Let me be clear.

The reason we don't have a fatality review team in Clark County is because Metro will not share data and neither will the DA's Office.

So I sat on the Clark County Fatality Review Team-- -And so did April, right?

- --and it ended in about what 2017 because we couldn't get any cases to review because the entities involved do not want to share the data.

Metro will tell you they have a fatality review between them and the DA's Office.

Still waiting for a publicly published report.

The Criminal Justice Coordinating Council brought the head of the fatality review nonprofit organization--they advise on this nationwide--to Clark County to meet with all of the players to explain what a fatality review is and why it is so critically important.

So I have a sliver of hope that Clark County may pull itself together and actually put this process together.

But we also have legislation because counties our size with our number of homicides, for us to not have any insight into what is actually happening when these folks are being murdered-- Who and what parts of the systems?

Did they come to SafeNest?

Did they work with April's team, Linda's team?

None of this is finger pointing.

All of this is transparency, and this is where Clark County has to wake up and realize we are 2.4 million people, and the days of people being found in Lake Mead are well gone.

We have got to be transparent.

Without transparency, we cannot solve this.

And a fatality review team is the perfect way to start that.

And I just would wish Metro would come to the table willingly, as the DA's office, as the public defenders, and all the other folks involved.

-Yeah.

We have to be able to share information to get better, to be better.

And when Elizabeth mentioned the Indiana, I actually sat on that one in Indiana, and we ran it very well and we learned from it.

So I am really hoping that we can get it here and be able to have the information that we need to do better.

-But it also just doesn't make sense from a very logical standpoint.

We hear over and over that domestic violence is the most common call that the police are called out for, right?

It's the most common call, and it is the most deadly call for them, the most dangerous call.

So common sense would say this is where they should be putting most of their attention, most of their resources, right?

Not just because, of course we want our communities to be safe, but they want their officers to be safe.

So why are we not focusing the bulk of our resources on the bulk of the calls?

-There's one more topic I want to fit in, and that is SafeNest opened One Safe Place.

-We did.

-Congratulations.

-Thank you.

-It's a one-stop shop for survivors of domestic violence, sexual violence, and human trafficking.

SafeNest, you call it Nevada's first affiliated family justice center.

Metro says it is also a family justice center.

-It does say that.

-There was talk that Metro was going to join your campus.

In a statement, though, that we got from Metro, they say maintaining a dedicated LVMPD facility preserves operational flexibility and independence for detectives.

One of the most important considerations is ensuring that the center remains focused exclusively on victims.

So I think they're pointing to SafeNest does work to help the abusers, correct?

-Yeah.

So first of all, let me say this: The Family Justice Center that Metro operates opens in 2018.

We have seen no decrease in homicides, domestic violence rates, or any positive outcomes from its opening.

I'm sure Metro would disagree with that statement, but the data speaks for itself.

The second thing that I'll say is these affiliated family justice centers, of which we will be operating, are around the country and around the globe.

And two things happen: Homicides go down and prosecutions go up.

So that is the goal of the center.

SafeNest has, for decades, worked with abusive partners.

Guess why we do that.

Because survivors ask for it.

Survivors want a place where their abusive partner can get resources and services.

We did a-- -At the same location?

-At the same location.

We've been doing it for decades.

We had a-- We did a peer review study with UNLV that's been published now internationally.

The first thing survivors want is for the violence to stop.

The second thing they want is to be believed.

It is not until you get far down on that list of the survivors' want is punishment.

So we've created a criminal justice system, funded it at 10 to 100 times the amount we're funding victim services, and we're wondering why in the 50-year history of this movement nothing's changed.

So SafeNest, yes, we put a stake in the ground 30 years ago and said we will serve abusive partners alongside survivors because survivors are asking for that.

We have all the right safety protocols in place, but I will also say, in Clark County, 30% of our arrests are women.

And we have a lot of dual arrests, and we have a lot of mutual combat.

And I work with a lot of clients who, coming to me as a survivor one day, might pick up a charge a week or two weeks later.

This is not the black and white world in which people think that we have a victim and a clearly defined abuser in every situation.

We do not.

So we have to treat the domestic violence for the complexity that it has, and that's what we're setting up.

-I think the most important thing to say and to make sure that we're saying it every single time we speak, there are a lot of details about domestic violence.

The most important thing is that people understand that they will be believed, that there are people in their community who are ready to support them and ready to help them get whatever resources and support they're looking for and that they can come forward, and that one of the most important questions you can ask someone is, Are you safe?

It is that simple.

We can go into all the details as long as we want to, but the bottom line is, when you say to someone, Are you safe, you are giving them the open door to understand that they will be believed when they come to you, and that is the most important thing.

-And what do you do if they say no?

-You safety plan with them, right?

Safety planning starts the first time someone understands that where they are right now isn't safe for them.

It doesn't mean they're going to leave today.

That's okay.

-I do think, Amber, there's an important piece in here that we are woefully underresourced against every other community our size in the number of confidential beds.

And SafeNest turns away 3,000-plus survivors a year who have at least one lethality marker from a bed in our shelter because we just simply do not have the space.

We only have 150-160 depending on which day you're counting confidential beds in Clark County for domestic violence survivors.

Other markets our size have 400-plus.

-And, Linda, you have said that you do not have an issue with-- Or are you at capacity?

-We are not at capacity.

With our renovation, our capacity is up to 250 beds.

We have 125 clients right now, primarily victims.

I have two floors, victims on one floor and are economically challenged on this second.

The reason why we operate this way is because that's how the Shade Tree started.

So we still take care of all the community.

We have a high-lethality dorm, so we do have beds for our victims.

Our partners--Metro, UMC--they call.

Yes, we do have right now.

However, Amber, it's very important to understand that someone might not feel safe in my shelter.

Someone may not feel comfortable in Liz's or S.A.F.E.

House.

So it really depends on the program and the facility of the person.

We want them to feel safe and comfortable.

-Okay.

So just because you have a bed open doesn't mean that someone that SafeNest is unable to take can go fill that bed.

-We refer to Linda all the time.

When we go out on calls with Metro, oftentimes Shade Tree is the only place with a bed.

And Shade Tree runs a phenomenal program.

It's not confidential address, though.

And that is a concern for a lot of our survivors, to Linda's great point, and we're semi-communal living, which is also a concern, right?

It is time for Clark County to step up and build dignified housing for people who are fleeing war zones inside their home.

We put $200 million into the Campus for Hope.

They have a Phase 2.

In that Phase 2, we should really be pushing for the 250-bed building that they're going to create on their campus to be domestic violence specific.

-Instead of just homelessness?

-Instead of just homelessness.

-There is so much overlap, and domestic violence is just, it's a complex-- So when you say "domestic violence," people will automatically think physical.

It's so much more than that and so many other issues: mental health, sometimes addictions, all of the things.

-April, I saw you give a strong nod when Liz said, "war zones within their own homes."

-Yes.

I'd like to see the County embrace a no-tolerance attitude towards domestic violence, not only the county but all stakeholders, ourselves and so many others, because to me that is why we have the problem.

I don't care what area you're looking at; there are things that need to improve.

In my work we see the children who were children in the divorce and custody cases.

In a few years, they're in the system as delinquent minors committing crimes.

And then as they get older--as I said, I've been on this job 23 years--now they're parents, and either they are have been abused, abusive or neglectful, or their partner has.

So the community suffers because of this pipeline of failure, being honest.

You know, we are not organized enough.

We are not unified.

We're not communicating.

We're too egotistical, defending things that we do.

We need to come together in a meaningful, genuine way to combat this very significant problem because we are Number 1 for this problem.

If you look at statistics on a lot of levels, we're always the one at Number 1, Number 5, Number 10.

We're always there.

Whereas, other states, they'll get high, they'll come down.

We're always there, so we need to do something.

-All right.

Thank you all so much for joining Nevada Week.

Let's get together again and have Clark County be part of it as well.

Okay.

Thank you.

And thank you for watching.

If you or someone you know needs help in regards to domestic violence, please call any of the numbers on your screen.

Links to all of these resources are also on our website, vegaspbs.org/nevadaweek.

And we'll see you next week on Nevada Week.

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