When the "Domestic Violence" movement began prior to agencies such as Victim Services being in existence, many women sought shelter in churches.   Some churches opened their basements, their community rooms and classrooms to women and children escaping abuse.  They often came with the clothes on their backs, sleeping on the floor, on a mattress if they were lucky.  From there, the church communities often found long term housing for them as well as assisted in many other ways.  Read more...

Studies have shown that more women seek help from a health care provider due to domestic violence issues than car accidents, rapes, and other assaults combined. Yet studies also show that less than 10% of health professionals ever ask victims about domestic violence.   Recommendations by the Surgeon General, the American Medical Association, and the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists support routine questioning of all patients about domestic violence.   Domestic violence is as common, or more common in women than many diseases for which most doctors check, such as breast and colon cancer or high cholesterol and diabetes.  In my own experience, I have never been asked by my health care professional whether I felt safe in my home, whether I had been hit or slapped, felt afraid of my partner or was forced to have sex.  The only reference to domestic violence has been on a survey I am requested to complete every year, one question of many while updating my address, phone number and other information. 

For any battered woman, involving outsiders, especially powerful entities like the police, is a risky venture.  If the case is prosecuted, their apprehensive perception of how they will be treated at the initial contact and later, in many cases, is the result of previous experience with prosecutors, judges, and other court personnel.

 Victim safety challenges conventional ways of responding to crime.  The criminal justice system is structured in a way that classifies incidents as misdemeanor/minor or felony/serious assaults.  This process often classifies extremely dangerous cases as minor assaults and in doing so, can underestimate the actual danger posed to a victim.   The criminal justice system is geared towards prosecution with the goal of conviction.  Is it a "good" case?  If it doesn't look as if it will get a conviction because the evidence is weak, usually because the victim is not in a position to testify against her attacker as result of threats against her, the children, or other family members - then, why pursue prosecution?  However, looking at the particulars of the case, understanding there is a power differential in relationships where domestic violence exists and that the violence is rarely an isolated incident can assist law enforcement and prosecutors in determining interventions and safety measures for victims as well as in holding the abuser accountable.