Advice : Prosecuting Domestic Violence: ‘Women and Children Fall through the Cracks’

This is going to sound trite, but make it easier for women to have some sense of control. What happens with so many women is that he has an attorney, she has no one. What happens to this woman is that (she feels) nobody really cares. She needs more explanations and compassion and more involvement.

One of the biggest problems we face is child visitation. It is not safe for a woman to have to take the children out (of the shelter) and have contact with the batterer.

It’s not fair to the children. We’re talking about children who watch their mothers be assaulted. Even if the father has not been abusive to the children, the home atmosphere is still not a loving, warm atmosphere. It puts the children in the same category as other possessions.

Another issue is the lack of transitional housing--long-term places of safety for the women. We’re a short-term crisis (center). There’s such a limited number of places. Often, women feel they have no place to (go) except back home.

My first question to the district attorney would be, what are you willing to do in custody issues to protect these children?

Second, can you bring compassion for the woman into the system? Other than a couple of phone calls, most women don’t have any contact with the prosecutor. So all the fears she has become amplified.