Giving Batterers Their Due : Two vital bills aimed at curbing domestic violence could get lost in shuffle

Prosecutors who work with domestic violence cases say there’s one thing that batterers take seriously: a brush with the law. In study after study, according to Los Angeles Deputy Dist. Atty. Lydia Bodin, violence against family members and cohabitees--almost always female victims--significantly decreased after arrests and prosecutions of the batterers. That’s an indication that increased penalties would be particularly effective in these types of crimes.

This year, Gov. Pete Wilson is supporting two important bills aimed at curbing domestic violence and giving more aid to women who flee their batterers. The legislation deserves support.

A major provision of the measures by Sens. Marian Bergeson (R-Newport Beach) and Robert Presley (D-Riverside) would recommend that judges send the offenders to jail for 30 days to a year instead of imposing a 48-hour “cooling off” sentence on batterers who violate domestic violence restraining orders. The legislation also would increase marriage license fees from $19 to $24 to support additional shelters and programs for victims of domestic violence, especially in underserved rural counties. The added money, estimated at about $1 million a year, also would be used for additional bilingual shelters.

The bills are expected to reach the Assembly floor before the Legislature’s scheduled adjournment Monday. But similar measures faltered in the Assembly last year when conservative Republicans balked at raising marriage license fees. Lobbying by Wilson, himself a Republican, will be needed if the measures are to gain passage this year.

Domestic violence cuts across all economic and social strata, putting thousands of women in danger every day. What’s more, officials in Orange and Los Angeles counties report an increase in these crimes, perhaps because of stresses caused by this year’s civil unrest in the region, or by high unemployment. The Bergeson/Presley bills would give law enforcement more tools to deter domestic violence, and counties more effective ways to help women whose safety is threatened.