💔 When the Legal System Protects Abusers: My Personal and Professional Rage
By Amira Martin-Saltsman, LCSW-R
Introduction: The News That Brought It All Back
This week’s news hit me harder than I expected.
Sean “Diddy” Combs, walking free on sex trafficking and racketeering charges—despite the mountain of evidence, disturbing testimonies, even video footage of him violently assaulting women—reminded me how broken our so-called ‘justice’ system really is.
For all the talk about New York being progressive, left-leaning, feminist-friendly… let me tell you from personal experience: when it comes to domestic violence, this city fails women every single day.
I Know, Because It Failed Me
I won’t share the explicit details of how my ex-partner assaulted me. Some wounds stay too raw to name publicly. But I will tell you what happened when I followed every rule. I called the police. I begged for protection—not just for me, but for our then one-year-old daughter.
You know what they told him?
“Go for a walk.”
A walk.
Meanwhile, I stood inside my own home—shaking, terrified, violated—and no one cared.
The worst part? I couldn’t even change the locks. The law made it clear: as long as his driver's license showed our shared apartment, he had a “right” to enter.
His license still had his old address. I watched him scramble to update it, knowing exactly what that meant. Every time that license arrived in the mail, I cut it up. I threw it away. I lived in survival mode—waiting for the next blow, the next threat, the next moment the system would remind me…
It wasn’t built to protect me.
The Police Didn't Listen. The System Didn't Care.
I told them, again:
“He assaulted me. I am scared. I am scared for our baby.”
But my fear was met with shrugs. Dismissiveness. Indifference.
Eventually, he was arrested. And eventually he took a plea deal. Not because I was protected—but because I didn’t have the strength left to survive a trial. Months of trauma left me emotionally and physically depleted. My brain couldn’t shut off. I was catatonic half the time. I couldn’t practice as a therapist—the work I love, the work I built my life around—because I could barely function.
Diddy Walks Free — And the Pattern Continues
Reading about the Diddy verdict? It feels like déjà vu.
A man with power, money, charm abuses women for years—on camera, in public, with witnesses—and still the system shrugs.
They got him on prostitution-related charges. But the violence? The coercion? The manipulation? All swept aside.
Is this a joke?
It’s not just celebrity justice. It’s everyday reality for countless women across New York City and beyond.
We can post hashtags. We can hold rallies. But when it comes down to it, the system isn’t designed to protect us. It protects them.
I’m a Therapist. I’m a Woman. I’m a Survivor.
I sit with this truth every day.
It fuels my practice.
But today?
I’m just angry.
We deserve better.
If You’ve Been Harmed, Please Know:
✔ You are believed.
✔ You are not alone.
Resources & Support
If you need help or are in danger:
- NYC Domestic Violence Hotline – 800-621-HOPE (4673)
- The National Domestic Violence Hotline – 800-799-7233
- Amira For Her Therapy Services – Private, trauma-informed care for NYS women
About the Author
Amira Martin-Saltsman, LCSW-R, is a psychotherapist, survivor, and founder of Amira For Her, a therapy practice dedicated to helping women heal from trauma, abuse, and injustice.
