How to Break the Cycle of Domestic Violence : More than laws, and law enforcement, will be needed
Spousal abuse, especially of women, has deep roots in history and culture. The famous and seemingly innocuous phrase “rule of thumb” is said to spring from the old English common law that allowed a man to beat his wife with a rod no thicker than his thumb. Sure, the legal concept of women as chattel is now, fortunately, dead and physical abuse of a mate in the United States is a crime--a misdemeanor or felony depending on the circumstances. But the problem, the abuse, continues.
Efforts to enforce existing laws leave much to be desired. And even when laws are enforced, the task of fighting spousal abuse can often be complicated by the unique cultural, social, economic and personal web that can ensnare a man and a woman.
All too often the question arises: Why does a person stay in an abusive relationship? Or people secretly wonder if she (or he) “deserved it.”
THE MISCONCEPTIONS: Such questions reflect how the deeply rooted beliefs about dominance and violence color our view of marriage and relationships. No one is immune from misconception--not judges, police, prosecutors or legislators, regardless of gender. That much is clearly illustrated in the controversy over how the system handled past incidents of spousal abuse by former football star O. J. Simpson, who now stands accused of murdering his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and a male friend of hers.
In view of the massive publicity in the Simpson case it may come as a bit of a surprise that California is a leader in both enforcing laws against spousal abuse and prosecuting violators. The state’s stalking laws, for example, allow police to arrest on the basis of threats or proximity rather than waiting until the known batterer again harms--or kills--the object of his rage. In Los Angeles, $23 of the $39 cost of a marriage license goes, aptly, to services and compensation for battering victims. Police are trained in domestic violence issues and since 1986 have been mandated to arrest violent batterers without the support or even encouragement of the victim if injury is evident. In Los Angeles County, Dist. Atty. Gil Garcetti, who is in charge of the Simpson murder prosecution, has a career-long record of concern for domestic violence law enforcement. He did not come to this issue for the first time last week.
A primary barrier to more forceful prosecution is the sheer volume of complaints. The 20,000 cases of domestic violence handled by the city attorney’s office each year is second in number only to drunk driving cases.
NEW PROPOSALS: It took the grisly death of Nicole Simpson to focus attention on worthy domestic violence proposals that had been stalled in the state Legislature. These include Assemblyman John Burton’s (D-San Francisco) bill for minimum sentencing and mandated counseling of batterers, another by Assemblywoman Hilda L. Solis (D-El Monte) to create a state registry of known offenders and one from Assemblyman Bob Epple (D-Cerritos) to mandate training in domestic violence issues for judges.
But the law alone is not enough. Breaking the cycle of domestic violence is also a task for family, church, schools, friends, neighbors and the media. We all must actively educate against abuse and work to provide support for victims seeking escape from violent relationships. In addition, support services must be available in various languages and contexts so that they are accessible to Southern California’s many communities.
Attacking the problem of spousal abuse with laws is, in one sense, the easy part. In order to change the environment that breeds such abuse, the daily mixed messages sent about what love means--what men want, what women want and what men and women expect from each other--must change. That will require a societal effort that no mere piece of legislation can address.