360 ° on Domestic Violence
Audrey Skwierawski
Asst. Attorney General
Violence Against Women Resource Prosecutor
(VAWRP)
Welcome
Law Enforcement
Prosecutors
Corrections
Advocacy
Victim Services Health Care
Thank you
Thank you for the amazing work
you continue to do
to keep victims and families safe…
And to hold perpetrators accountable
Roadmap for DV cases ?
Head on a swivel ?
Quantifying DV
Milwaukee County
• Anywhere from 6,000 to 10,000 DV cases
reviewed by District Attorney each year
• Those are only the cases that get to the DA
desk, many many more are investigated
• And many more never get to the police in the
first place
Quantifying DV
State of Wisconsin
• The Wisconsin Coalition Against Domestic
Violence (WCADV) released statistics related
to state domestic violence homicides that
took place in 2011. Forty people were killed in
34 incidents.
Quantifying Domestic Violence
as
Significant Public Health Issue
50 – 57 % of women
presenting at a health
care system experience
physical/emotional
abuse in their lifetime
Impact
Affects Everyone in the House
Impact
Children exposed to DV
• Behavioral, social, and emotional problems.
Children in families experiencing domestic
violence are more likely than other children to
exhibit aggressive and antisocial behavior or
to be depressed and anxious (Brown &
Bzostek, 2003).
Impact
Children exposed to DV
• Cognitive and attitudinal problems. Children
exposed to domestic violence are more likely to
experience difficulties in school and score lower
on assessments of verbal, motor, and cognitive
skills.
• Slower cognitive development, lack of conflict
resolution skills, limited problem solving skills,
pro-violence attitudes are other issues identified
in the research (Brown & Bzostek, 2003; Edleson,
2006).
Impact
Children exposed to DV
• Long-term problems. Research indicates that
males exposed to domestic violence as children
are more likely to engage in domestic violence as
adults; similarly, females are more likely to be
victims (Brown & Bzostek, 2003).
• Higher levels of adult depression and trauma
symptoms also have been found (Silvern et al.,
1995). Exposure to domestic violence is also one
of several adverse childhood experiences (ACEs)
that have been shown to contribute to premature
death
Not the good kind of recycling…
Defining Domestic Violence
• Use of coercive, controlling behavior backed
up with physical, psychological, financial and
sexual power tactics
• Escalates in frequency and severity over time
Defining Domestic Violence
Wis. Stats. 968.075
968.075(1)(a) Defines domestic abuse as
1. Intentional infliction of physical pain, physical
injury or illness
2. Intentional impairment of physical condition
3. A violation of 940.225(1), (2) or (3) [sexual
assault]
4. A physical act that may cause the other person
reasonably to fear imminent engagement in the
conduct described in 1, 2 or 3 above
Defining Domestic Violence
Wis. Stats. 968.075
• An adult person against his or her spouse or
former spouse,
• An adult with whom the person resides or
formerly resided
• An adult with whom the person has a child in
common
What do we know about
DV Victims
Domestic violence affects victims regardless of :
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
race
religion
gender/sexual identity
culture
social identification
educational level
age
ability/disability
immigration status
economic status
What do we know about DV Victims:
Especially Vulnerable Populations
• Women are much more likely to be victimized
by a current or former intimate partner.
• Women are 84 percent of spouse abuse
victims and 86 percent of victims of abuse at
the hands of a boyfriend or girlfriend
• About three-fourths of the persons who
commit family violence are male
Especially Vulnerable Populations
• Women age 16 to 24 are at the greatest risk of
experiencing nonfatal intimate partner violence.
• Initial studies indicate that:
– Domestic violence is more often reported by the poor who
rely on the police for dispute resolution
– African American, American Indian and Alaska Native
women experience the highest rates of intimate partner
violence.
Especially Vulnerable Populations
• Compared to women without disabilities, women
with disabilities are more likely to experience
physical and sexual violence (Brownridge, 2006;
Martin et al., 2006; Powers et al., 2002; Smith,
2008), increased severity of violence (Brownridge,
2006; Nannini, 2006; Nosek et al., 2001b), multiple
forms of violence (Curry et al., 2004; Martin et al.,
2006; Nosek et al., 2001a), and longer duration of
violence (Nosek et al., 2001b).
Interpersonal Violence and Women With Disabilities: A Research Update
(11/08/2009) Laurie E. Powers, Rosemary B. Hughes, and Emily M. Lund.
Dynamics of DV
The Tale of the Frog in the Pot
Dynamics of DV
Power and Control Wheel
If things don’t look
or feel right…
Beneath the surface there is more than meets
the eye….
What we know about victims:
Myths and Expectations
• Why doesn’t she leave ?
• Why does she recant or
change her story?
• Why doesn’t she want
to prosecute ?
Limited Choices
• Which choice is the right one ?
LEAVE
FIGHT
BACK
STAND
STILL
Lola Tape
What we know about victims:
It is not in our nature to be “illogical”
Trauma Response
• Flight – Run Away!
• Fight – Strike Back!
• Freeze – Don’t Move!
Psychological Trauma is a
Neurobiological Injury
• Impacts the limbic system yielding reduced
hippocampal and amydalar volume;
• Alters the production of stress hormones (I.e.
cortisol) and neurotransmitters (epinephrine,
dopamine, serotonin);
• Diminishes integration between left and right
hemispheres.
TRAUMA REACTIONS
• Loss of control;
• Attempt to regain control & personal safety;
• Perception or belief that individual is unable
to defend or care for oneself;
• Individuals reassert control by using coping
strategies & problem solving skills based in
previous experiences.
IMPACT OF TRAUMA
o Distortion of memory, time, worldview,
safety, trust & reality…
o Creation of confusion, chaos & the
necessity of a survival response…
IN THE SPLIT SECOND BEFORE THE SEMI-TRAILER
SLAMS INTO YOUR VEHICLE,
CAN YOU CALCULATE THE MASS, ACCELERATION &
ANTICIPATED FORCE OF IMPACT?
POSSIBLE BEHAVIORS
DURING INTERVIEW
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Hysterical
Crying
Screaming
Unable to follow directions/confused
Not providing details
Calm
Unaffected
POSSIBLE BEHAVIORS
DURING INTERVIEW
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Uncooperative
Hostile
Angry
Fearful
Blaming
Physically/Verbally Aggressive
Refusing to talk
Impact of DV
Limited Options for the Victim
• Even though our first reaction when hearing that
someone is being abused might be “you should
leave!” that is not always the safest advice to give.
• When someone decides to leave an abusive
relationship, the abuser can significantly increase the
level of violence in order to maintain control.
Impact of DV
•
•
•
•
•
Potential impacts on the victim
Bureau of Child Welfare
Loss of employment
Poverty or homelessness
Humiliation
Frustration of family members and friends
Loss of Control is Profound
“For the researchers, the bottom line was that
victim satisfaction in domestic violence cases
appeared to hinge on the extent to which the
victim felt control over ending the violence in the
incident, control over her offender’s future
conduct—and even over the criminal justice
system. When the victim had a low sense of
control, satisfaction with the system decreased
significantly. “
NIJ Journal No. 253 • January 2006
The Victim Knows Best
Victims know best about their own safety and
well-being, and when they have a greater
sense of control while working with agencies,
they find the services more helpful and
effective.
•
Zweig, Janine, Martha R. Burt, and Ashley Van Ness, Effects on Victims of Victim
Service Programs Funded by the STOP Formula Grants Program, Washington, DC:
U.S. Department of Justice, National Institute of Justice, 2003: 16 (NCJ 202903).
What we know about abusers:
• The majority of abusers are men – with
national studies finding that women are the
victims in as much as 85% of domestic
violence incidents.
What we know about abusers:
Learned Behavior ?
• Studies have found that nearly one half of
abusive men grew up in homes where their
father or step father was an abuser.
What we know about abusers
• Changing learned behaviors is HARD
• A walk around the block won’t do it
What we know about abusers
• “Violent Individuals” theory = compelling
evidence that many batterers are violent
beyond domestic violence.
• More accurately viewed as violent criminals,
not solely as domestic batterers who are
otherwise law-abiding in the “outside world”
What we know about abusers
• One study showed that more than 70% of
offenders in jail for DV had prior convictions
for other crimes.
What we know about abusers
• Offenders can be very calm, and persuasive at
the scene.
• Offenders use manipulation with their victims,
and they are good at it. They will try to use
these same skills with us.
• Although some of the approaches we use for
DV must be unique, we can apply techniques
we acquire from other types of crimes
Clip of Hospital DV
New and Improved
• Risk assessments and measurement tools that
allow us to concentrate resources on worst
offenders
• Apply geographically based policing
techniques
• Where are the batterers? Where are the
victims?
Criminal Justice System ?
• Who is holding the cards?
• How many cards are we really holding?
Redefine Success
• Yes, investigation – prosecution – conviction
are of critical importance
• But big picture 360 examination = every
opportunity counts
• Every step of the process provides us with lifechanging moments to support the victim and
provide negative consequences for abusers
Interventions That Work
• Layers of consequences for abusers
– A study of more than 2,500 DV victims concluded
that just the act of calling the police had a strong
deterrent effect on re-victimization.
– Arrest
– Prosecution
– Batterer’s intervention programming
Interventions that Work
• Layers of support for victims
– Coordination in systems of support
– Providing advocacy
– Access to orders of protection
– Safety planning
– Ensuring feeling of control
Every Intervention Can Be the One
That Makes A Difference