The Trump Effect: Silencing Victims of Domestic Violence

 March is National Women’s Month, and as this commemoration of women’s achievements draws to a close I want to address a subject with a strong “Ick Factor.”  Since the beginning of collecting and analyzing crime reports in America, the crimes of domestic violence and rape were classified as the most “unreported" or "under-reported” forms of violent crime in America.  Many perpetrators already escape prosecution.  Now, due to the Trump Administration’s immigration policies and aggressive Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) actions, more immigrant women are not reporting assault/injuries and dropping court cases to avoid the additional risk of tearing their families apart.

     This is wrong.

Failure to Report

     Law enforcement agencies are aware that the greatest challenge associated with protecting victims of domestic abuse and punishing offenders stem from victims’ unwillingness to report. According to the Department of Justice, “Estimating rates of violence against women, especially sexual assault and other incidents committed by intimate partners continues to be a difficult task. Many factors inhibit women from reporting these crimes either to police or to government interviewers. The private nature of the event, the perceived stigma and the belief that no purpose would be served in reporting the crime keeps an unknown portion of the victims from talking about the event.” Additionally, “fifty-three percent of battered women still involved with the perpetrator experienced self-blame for causing the violence.”

     According to the Los Angeles Times (March 21), L.A. Police Chief Charlie Beck said “reports of sexual assault have dropped 25% among the city’s Latino population since the beginning of 2017 compared with the same period last year” and reports of domestic violence also fell by 10 percent in this ethnic group.  Beck attributed the decrease to fear within immigrant communities that interactions with police or government agencies could lead to deportation.  Officials from ICE deny any correlation.

     Fear of detention in the process of reporting or seeking court ordered protection against the abuser is warranted.  In February, federal agents detained Irvin Gonzalez, a Mexican national living in Texas, after she obtained an order of protection against an allegedly abusive boyfriend in the El Paso County Courthouse.  Although ICE agents claim Gonzalez was contacted outside of the courthouse, surveillance video provided to news agencies by El Paso County Attorney Joanne Bernal clearly showed ICE personnel were inside the courthouse when Gonzalez was taken into custody in the hallway outside the courtroom.

     ICE maintains their goal is to prioritize detaining undocumented immigrants who are in violation of laws that are not related to immigrant status, but Gonzalez reportedly had no outstanding warrants.  Bernal said: “A victim of serious abuse is entitled to a protective order and justice whether she has a criminal record or not… As a result of the actions of the immigration officials — violating the sanctity of the courthouse — there are going to be a lot of victims who are going to be afraid to come forward for fear of facing the same consequences as she did.”

     This was, indeed, the case in Denver where City Attorney Kristin Bronson said women who had filed charges alleging violent domestic assaults in four separate cases notified her office they were dropping those charges.  Bronson believed the victims’ decisions and fear were spawned by a video taken in a Denver Courthouse in February which shows ICE officers waiting in a hallway outside a Denver courtroom for another person.  Bronson reportedly told NPR, “Without victims willing to testify we've had to dismiss those charges and the violent offenders have seen no consequences for their violent acts.”

     The result of ICE’s aggressive tactics runs contrary to the Trump Administration’s stated goal of removing criminals from American society.  If crime victims are unwilling to report violent crimes or to testify against violent offenders, the criminal remains free to commit more crimes in America.

The Economic Impact

     According to a report published by the Centers for Disease Control in 2003, the largest costs associated with domestic violence are medical and economic.  In that report the CDC estimated 5.3 million adults are victimized each year resulting in two million injuries and the loss of eight million days of paid work which is equivalent to over 32,000 full-time jobs.

     More recent statistics compiled by the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence (NCADV) and other organizations indicate the statistics sited by the CDC are low. According to a recent analysis by DoSomthing.org, “The costs of domestic violence amount to more than $37 billion a year in law enforcement involvement, legal work, medical and mental health treatment, and lost productivity at companies.”

     If domestic violence is so costly, why is it still so prevalent?  The primary reason abuse victims remain in or return to violent households is economic.  Between 21 and 60 percent of domestic violence victims lose their jobs due to problems such as absenteeism, reduced job performance or overuse of medical benefits.  The problems associated with lost income are further complicated by financial abuse.  According to a Huffington Post article (October, 2014), in 98 percent of all domestic violence cases, financial abuse also occurs. “The number one reason domestic violence survivors stay or return to the abusive relationship is because the abuser controls their money supply, leaving them with no financial resources to break free.”

     This problem is an epidemic.  The NCADV estimated: “In the United States, an average of 20 people are physically abused by intimate partners every minute.  . This equates to more than 10 million abuse victims annually.”  The coalition also estimated that a woman in America, regardless of race, religion, sexual orientation, economic or immigrant status is assaulted every nine seconds.  Mathematically, this means approximately seven adult females become assault victims every minute.  What of the other people in this statistic?  One in every four men also are victims of assault by intimate partners at some time in their lives which means an average of five male adults also become domestic abuse victims every minute.

     One can construe the remaining eight people included in this statistic who are physically abused every minute in America are children.  Child abuse may be included in some of the associated costs listed above, but few studies have actually been able to quantify the immediate and long-term effects of child abuse.  Clearly, medical expenses, law enforcement involvement, the administration of child protection agencies, family services, and attendance-based subsidies lost by public school districts are economic factors associated with child abuse.  These costs generally are born by cities, counties and states.  An estimated 10 million children are exposed to domestic violence annually.

Living in Fear

     Domestic abuse is a pervasive but preventable problem; and yet, it persists. The NCADV states: “Physical violence is often accompanied by emotionally abusive and controlling behavior as part of a much larger, systematic pattern of dominance and control. Domestic violence can result in physical injury, psychological trauma, and even death. The devastating consequences of domestic violence can cross generations and last a lifetime.”

     The lifetime and multi-generational aspects of abuse are particularly prevalent in people who were exposed to violence as children.  Young children who hear abusive language or see adults physically hurting each other have no frame of reference to understand this is not “normal” family behavior.  If a child in such a home is verbally, physically, or sexually abused his or her home is not a safe haven and the child may believe she “deserved” the assault.

     Children from abusive homes often suffer from low self-esteem, depression, anxiety, and symptoms of PTSD which include amnesia, nightmares and flashbacks.  Sexual assault is the most common form (43 to 47 percent) of physical abuse directly perpetrated against children.  Research indicates children who were sexually abused by a relative suffer intense guilt and shame, depression, and self-destructive behaviors.

     School-age children may realize that all families are not abusive, but many remain silent.  They struggle with the mixed emotions of hating and loving their abuser(s) and needing them for survival.  Consequently, they tend to lead the double life of social conformity in school environments and white-knuckled survival at home.  Not surprisingly, research indicates a correlation between childhood abuse and self-destructive escapism such as substance abuse and suicide.

     When abuse and violence are “normalized,” in childhood, one often fails to see the warning signs of potentially dangerous relationships as they mature.  The backhanded compliment is not heard as an insult.  A hicky is “funny” rather than a bruising mark of control.  His pleas to not go out with friends is not recognized as the beginning of isolation by her until she has no one to turn to for help.  “Love taps” blur boundary lines and are forgiven.  Inch by inch, incident by incident childhood violence becomes adult violence and the cycle continues.

     I know how this happens because I lived it. What I did not know until I began researching this topic over 25 years ago was that I was not alone.  WE are not alone.

     If you are afraid of ICE, go to a place of worship, a school or a hospital and do not leave until they help you.  If you have legal status and ICE officials attempt to detain you, identify themselves as “police,” or are not accompanied by local law enforcement officers, call 9-1-1 to allow local authorities to become involved.  Local authorities want to be involved.

     Ladies and gentlemen, there are city and county police agencies that want to help you protect yourself and your children.  There are county prosecutors in courthouses across America who are dedicated to applying our laws to protect you from your abuser and to obtain justice.  If you are afraid to go to court, tell the prosecutor you want to provide testimony by video tape or by telephone and the court will often make exceptions in cases of violence.

     I know this because I reported.  You need to know this as well.

     You have a right to be safe.