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Survivor urges systemic change after domestic‑violence deaths during Moorhead council meeting
Summary
Jane Groenenberg, a domestic‑violence survivor and former victim‑services worker, told the council the justice system often dismisses psychological abuse and urged systemic change, citing the death of Sahar Ramirez. City staff and the mayor directed callers to local support services.
At the Moorhead City Council meeting on July 13, survivor and advocate Jane Groenenberg delivered an emotional public comment urging the city and community to address what she described as a broken system for survivors of domestic violence.
Groenenberg identified herself as a Moorhead resident with a paralegal degree and decades of experience in victim services. She described how psychological and non‑physical forms of abuse are often dismissed by law enforcement and prosecutors and said that victims and survivors are left without accountability. "In my opinion, Sahar's life ended because of extreme violence, not because of suicide," Groenenberg said, and she called on civic leaders and the community to stop enabling abusers by doing nothing.
Mayor Shelley Carlson acknowledged the seriousness of domestic violence, disclosed a prior professional connection with Groenenberg in victim services, and pointed listeners to Solera (the local domestic‑violence and abuse crisis center) as a free and confidential resource. Groenenberg closed by urging systemic reform beyond the availability of nonprofit hotlines: "We need change in the system because it is broken, not a phone number."
