Amie Harwick's friend starts #JusticeforAmie petition to reform domestic violence laws, gets Drew Carey's support
A friend of Dr Amie Harwick has called for reforms in domestic violence laws following the death of the former Playboy model-turned-Hollywood sex therapist. Harwick was found unresponsive in her Los Angeles home following an attack allegedly by her ex-boyfriend.
MEA WorldWide (MEAWW) previously reported that Harwick had taken out a restraining order against the suspect, Gareth Pursehouse, 41, following their breakup around six years ago, and was killed on February 15, just a couple of weeks after its expiry.
Now, her friend Diana Arias has set up a Change.org petition titled 'Justice 4 Amie - Domestic Violence Laws Updated' calling for domestic violence reform that has, at the time of writing, already crossed 30,000 signatures.
"I recently lost a wonderful friend, Dr Amie Harwick," Arias wrote. "She was murdered as a result of poor laws not protecting the victims and treating the offenders. I refuse to let her death be in vain."
"Amie had a restraining order in place against a violent ex-boyfriend from a decade ago," she continued. "The restraining order expired. Well two weeks ago, this ex-boyfriend went to an event that she was at and harassed her. He began to stalk her and on Valentine's day attack her, in her own home while he laid in wait for her to come home. This man for years clearly needed treatment. She should have never had to be in this situation like so many other victims."
Harwick was found unresponsive, under a third-story balcony in her Hollywood Hills residence, with police confirming that their investigation "revealed possible evidence of a struggle in the upstairs as well as forced entry to the residence." They subsequently arrested Pursehouse and charged him with murder in connection to Harwick's death. Pursehouse is currently released from jail on $2M bond.
Arias wrote that the process to get a restraining order was "very difficult and traumatic" and called for certain changes to the current law.
These included no expiration dates on the restraining order unless the victim requested for it to be canceled, mandatory in-person counseling for the stalker/abuser, victims being given the choice to testify against their abuser in court via live stream, and the establishment of a registry that could warn others of deviant behavior.
"People shouldn't have to die to make changes," Arias wrote. "If Amie's murder can save countless other lives like she was doing when she was alive then it makes this pain of her death not in vain. Enough is Enough."
Harwick, well-known in Los Angeles as a successful therapist and author who had earned a doctorate in human sexuality, had been thrust into the spotlight following a short-lived and high-profile relationship with comedian Drew Carey. The pair started dating in 2017 and news of their engagement arrived in early 2018, but they went their separate ways less than a year later.
Carey, who had previously said he was "overcome with grief" over Harwick's death, has endorsed Arias's petition calling for a change in domestic violence laws and asked his 602,000 followers to sign it and support it.