An Interview with Anne Paulle, Adjunct Professor at Monroe University, about DiVA, a Bronx-Based Organization focused on Domestic Violence

by Mark Moore, Lucia Mead, and Kaycee Portillo-Soto 

“Domestic violence exists, and it is pervasive,” Anne Paulle begins, pausing, even over Zoom, as if to let the statement sink in. We first spoke with Paulle shortly after domestic violence had led to a mass shooting in Shreveport, Louisiana.  In April 2026, Shamar Elkins had shot and killed seven of his own children, and had shot and injured Saneiqua Pugh, his wife, and Christine Snow, the mother of three of his children.  Paulle hoped that the shocking news incident would serve as a wake-up call about the pervasiveness of domestic violence in America, and its effect on children.[1]  (Paulle is a long-time friend of our law firm.)

Paulle is the Coordinator for DiVA, a Bronx-based organization focused on raising awareness around domestic violence affecting women and children. Paulle has a long history of work within the field. She is an Adjunct Professor at the School of Criminal and Social Justice at Monroe University.  In the 1980s, she served as the director of Aegis Battered Women’s Shelter in the Bronx.  She has served as a Director within the New York State Office for the Prevention of Domestic Violence and as Director of the Bronx Domestic Violence programs at the Jewish Board of Family and Children’s Services.  She currently serves as an expert witness in criminal prosecutions of domestic violence.   She thus has a valuable perspective on the movement and its development over time.

When Paulle was asked how awareness about domestic violence has evolved since the 1970s – when she first entered the field – she stated that the key change was the growth from a purely defensive posture to a more proactive approach aimed at stemming the conditions that make violence possible in the first place. Paulle said that much of that change in approach arose from the work of organizations such as DiVA.

Paulle worked with the Bronx Borough President’s Office to found DiVA, which has served the community for some 25 years.  Its key organizational sponsors today are the Office of Bronx Borough President Vanessa L. Gibson, the Bronx District Attorney’s Office, Safe Horizon (the largest victim service agency in the country), Violence Intervention Program (VIP), a domestic violence agency founded in the Latina community, Monroe University and Albert Einstein College of Medicine.

DiVA serves three main purposes.  First, it seeks to educate the public about the pervasiveness of domestic violence in our larger society and in the Bronx in particular.  Second, it explores possible solutions to the problem of domestic violence. The organization’s primary vehicle for raising awareness and seeking solutions is DiVA Talk, a forum that brings together students and faculty from Monroe University with local residents for conversations about domestic violence, its causes, and its impact on individuals and communities, and to search for possible solutions.  For example, recent DiVA Talks have focused on reforms within the healthcare community to address domestic violence.

Third, DiVA hosts a wide range of community events designed to foster support, awareness, and connection among survivors and the rest of the community. These events include DiVA Spa, a day-long event held beneath the dome of the Bronx Courthouse where survivors and members of the Bronx community receive hair, nail, and makeup services from students drawn from the New York Hispanic Cosmetology and Beauty Chamber of Commerce.  This provides a joyful space for care, dignity, and community.  There are also counselors available to direct the women participants to necessary resources.  As Paulle observes, so much of the discussion surrounding domestic violence is, understandably, deeply serious and even dark.  An event like DiVA Spa offers survivors of domestic violence a chance to experience joy, connection, and a sense of community.

Domestic violence, notes Paulle, is often treated as a private tragedy, confined within the walls of a home and to the individuals who inhabit it. Yet domestic violence also has a very real social dimension, and is made even harder to address when accompanied by financial uncertainty, imbalances of power, social isolation, or institutions that too often fail those most at risk.

For Paulle, the question is ultimately a simple one: what would it mean to build communities that do not wait for a crisis before they act?  DiVA’s answer lies in the slow work of education, outreach, and care. Whether through conversations, community events, or direct support, the organization is attempting to shift the focus from response to prevention—making domestic violence not merely more visible, but less pervasive.

The next DiVA Talk, a virtual event open to the public, is scheduled for October 21, 2026, beginning at 6:30 p.m. The topic for discussion is “Then and Now: 40 Years of Domestic Violence Policy and Programming.” Speakers will include representatives of Safe Horizon, VIP, and the Office of the Bronx Borough President.  All are welcome to join.

To remain up to date about DiVA’s mission and upcoming events, join DiVA’s mailing list by emailing DiVAthebronx@gmail.com.

[1] Paulle points to deeply troubling information about the risk to children from domestic violence. According to the CDC’s 2023 Youth Risk Behavior Survey, 18.6% (nearly one in five) U.S. high school students reported having witnessed intimate partner violence during their lifetimes.  Elizabeth A. Swedo et al., Adverse Childhood Experiences and Health Conditions and Risk Behaviors Among High School Students—Youth Risk Behavior Survey, United States, 2023, 73 Morbidity & Mortality Wkly. Rep., No. 4 (Supp.) (2024), available at https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/73/su/su7304a5.htm. The risks extend beyond witnessing violence itself: research from the U.S. Department of Justice found that children who witnessed intimate partner violence in the past year were nearly four times as likely to experience child maltreatment during that same year as children who had not witnessed such violence.  Elizabeth A. Swedo et al., Adverse Childhood Experiences and Health Conditions and Risk Behaviors Among High School Students—Youth Risk Behavior Survey, United States, 2023, 73 Morbidity & Mortality Wkly. Rep., No. 4 (Supp.) (2024), available at https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/73/su/su7304a5.htm.

This article is intended as a general discussion of these issues only and is not to be considered legal advice or relied upon. For more information, please contact RPJ Attorney Mark Moore who counsels clients on employment disputes, disputes in a university setting, securities matters, intellectual property issues, and other commercial matters. Mr. Moore is admitted to practice law in New York, the United States Courts of Appeal for the Second and Third Circuits and the United States District Courts for the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York.