Domestic Violence: Behind Closed Doors
Copyright ©2006 Sure Woman.com/Dawn G. Prince

Room For Improvement In All Facets of The System

W hile Monica welcomes the much-needed programs aimed at improving and cutting red tape, she feels that there is room for improvement in other areas of awareness and sensitivity. “Not enough education is being taught to our younger people about this matter in our public schools and religious organizations…”

Although she doesn’t believe that police officers discourage women, she feels that more education and sensitivity training is needed for all facets of the system an abused woman will face along the way. Statistics show that police are more likely to respond within 5 minutes if the offender is a stranger than if the offender is known to the female victims, according to Bureau of Justice Statistics, January 1994 (BJS).

“What is lacking is sensitivity and not wanting to get involved with domestic violence calls that come up over their radio. After seeing so much violence, they become insensitive—certainly, this is not all law enforcement people, but education and sensitivity [is needed] throughout the entire procedure—hospitals, courts, police officers, etc.”

More often than not, through deficiencies in the system, the system often fails the victim. In Monica’s case, she had gone to police after being drugged and held captive, but it didn’t stop him from calling her workplace daily and stalking and almost killing her. Often, restraining orders do not work as we often see in the news that many women killed had restraining orders on the offender.

“Many battered women have used the legal system, but it didn’t protect them from stalking, threats of ‘if you report me I will kill you or take the kids,’” Monica says.

National studies have found batterers rarely go to jail for assaulting their spouses and only end up in jail when they murder them. The average sentence for a man who kills his wife is 2 to 6 years, while it is up to 15 years for a woman (National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, 1989). 9 percent of batterers are never prosecuted and 1/3 of the cases that would be considered felonies if committed by strangers are filed as misdemeanors, a lesser crime (U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer, September 1993).

Advocates complain that the criminal justice system is too lenient on the offender and this greatly affects a victim’s willingness to testify. If the offender just gets a fine and a slap on the wrist and is returned home instead of being held accountable, he’s likely to commit the crime again. This lack of accountability could discourage the woman from coming forward and prosecuting because she feels what the use or fears reprisal from the batterer.

This results in some prosecutors often being reluctant to prosecute offenders because they believe women tend to not follow-through. The American Prosecutors Research Institute on their website lays out an approach for prosecutors to deal with abused victims: By understanding the difficulties a victim faces when considering testifying, this eliminates the frustration that results in the witness being unfairly labeled as hostile.

The article states, “It is vital that prosecutors who handle domestic violence cases have at least a basic understanding of domestic violence dynamics. The domestic violence victim’s experience, in the context of participating with criminal prosecution, is quite different than other crime victims.”

To promote this understanding throughout society, Monica feels that she and other survivors “need to encourage and continue to work with those who can affect our laws, make law officials more accountable and sensitive when they encounter these kind of crimes, put more money into counseling those who have been traumatized and the abuser as well to prevent it from re-occurring.”

“There’s always room for improvement and training,” says Murphy-Milano. “They don’t have the manpower, they don’t have the dollars, and people are struggling because with a lot of things being cut, federal money, the Violence Against Women Act— people are trying to whittle away at those dollars.” Ending Domestic Violence

And while it is encouraging that domestic violence dropped by more than half between 1993 and 2002 (BJS, June 2005), this does not makes it any less an epidemic that needs national attention. The 1994 Violence Against Women Act greatly changed and improved the way society, including police, responded to stalking, dating violence and domestic violence issues and offered the victims programs and services that ensure their safety and stability. Even with such legislation in place—there are still deficiencies in the system, and there is still a long way to go in eradicating domestic violence in our society.

“We continue to play “tug of war” with respect to relationships,” says Murphy-Milano. “We need real answers and real solutions if we are going to change the way society [views] violence of all types.”

It starts with awareness that domestic violence is a behind closed door crime that tears apart the lives of 4 million women and over 3 million children every year. For continued decline in domestic violence, society needs to adopt a zero-tolerance policy that deters batterers and allows women to take back their dignity without fear of losing their lives.

Speaking with her mother in mind, Jordan is adamant when she says, “I now know that you don’t have to die, or allow someone to kill you physically, emotionally or spiritually to get peace. Get Past the Pain! You have a choice! It is in your control.”

Women should look in their phone books for local assistance or call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-SAFE (7233) or turn to a trusting friend or family member for help. There are websites like The National Coalition Against Domestic Violence www.ncadv.org that outline a safety plan as well as provide essential information for getting help and getting out.

Next Week. Part Four: A special look at Domestic Violence and Its Effect on Children; Teenage Dating Violence and an interview with T.K. Jordan, who knows all too well what witnessing domestic violence can do to a child.

Children and Domestic Violence

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National Domestic Violence Hotline:
1-800-799-7223(SAFE)