Avert Domestic Violence; MDG
More work to do against domestic violence
Published 6:23 pm, Wednesday, October 9, 2013
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The numbers that periodically emerge from the shadowland of domestic violence are always jolting.
The most recent national survey commissioned by theU.S. Centers for Disease Control and Preventionestimates that nearly 6 percent of women experienced rape, physical violence or stalking by an intimate partner in the 12 months covered by the survey.
The National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey further reports that some 42.4 million American women -- or 35.6 percent -- have been victims of one of those crimes in their lifetime.
Police across the state reported an average of 4.03 domestic violence arrests for every 1,000 residents in 2012.
This is a plague that makes no exceptions for geography or socioeconomic standing, as evidenced in such grisly fashion in the recent case of a man accused of bludgeoning his wife behind the security gates of their Greenwich manse.
October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month, and rallies are scheduled around the state to heighten awareness.
A Hearst Connecticut Newspapers analysis of state figures found that of 31 towns in southwestern Connecticut, only eight had arrest rates higher than the average, those being Naugatuck, Ansonia, Norwalk, New Milford, Stratford, Bridgeport, Derby and Seymour.
The numbers, as staggering as they are, don't tell the whole story. The federal CDC report estimates that only 5.9 percent of domestic violence victims contacted a crisis hotline, meaning that for every person who reports there are 16 who don't.
A blend of feelings, including shame and embarrassment, keep people from reporting abuse, the experts say.
Education programs aimed at youngsters -- the CDC report says 22.4 percent of women who experienced rape, stalking or physical violence had their first experience between the ages of 11 and 17 -- are needed to establish in young women's minds that the abuse they receive is not because of some flaw in their own character or personality, but is in fact a serious flaw in their abuser.
So much help, though, is available.
And the state of Connecticut has taken the issue seriously, passing a string of laws over the last few years toughening penalties and strengthening support programs.
The best way to bring the problem under control is to report it to authorities.
But it's more than that. We must, as a society, do better to stop the problem before it starts. Domestic abuse is not acceptable under any circumstances. It may sound trite to say so, but if more people understood this basic fact then we wouldn't see such terrifying statistics on the number of victims every year.
More can be done to punish offenders. More must be done to prevent offenses.
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