Domestic Violence Programs Hurting Women

[Guest Father]

The community treatment of abused women, even in large metropolitan

areas, remains in the Dark Ages, according to my experience as a

clinician. Instead of being nursed and pampered, victims are forced to

live in dank shelters and given menial chores plus made to care for

themselves and any children.

 

One of my patients who had no-where else to go in order to escape her

abuser spent one night with her small son in one of these places and

left as soon as she could the next day. She told me the place was a

roach-infested rat's nest.

 

Yet these women have no friends for the most part because their

abusers have chased them all away. Their families have given up on

them in many cases.

 

Because abuse results in extreme social isolation, the woman is

usually without any other resource to initiate a rescue operation;

that is, to help her leave her abuser safely and then provide what is

necessary for housing, child care, and all the other requirements for

breaking the cycle. As a result, victims must turn to public programs

to perform these life-saving functions.

 

Women experience a culture shock when suddenly thrust into a milieu

that is foreign to them. These shelters tend to have a ghetto

atmosphere, and the living conditions are deplorable. Even women who

are accustomed to poverty are unnerved.

 

These domestic violence projects usually assist victims in filing

restraining orders against their oppressors. The victims feel somewhat

comforted by such a court injunction until they find out that the

piece of paper is worthless. Either the restraining order is never

served on the offender or, if it is, the abuser becomes further

enraged.

 

The victims receive group therapy by paraprofessionals and volunteers

with an anti-male slant. Upper-level mental-health professionals, such

as psychologists and psychiatrists, are rarely associated with these

havens except perhaps on a consulting basis. Even then, these

consultants are rarely familiar with the treatment of emotional trauma

or any of the roots of domestic violence.

 

I mean no less than to say that many of these facilities are ignorant

as to what a victim needs. But these organizations, for the most part,

are deeply entrenched in the community and not open to change. They

have staked out their territory, and they are not about to allow

outsiders within their borders.

 

An attorney-friend with the same concerns as my own joined me at a

meeting of a domestic-violence task force. When he pointed at that

injunctions were neither being served nor enforced, he was branded as

a trouble-maker and forbidden to come back. I was told that I could

return if I did not interfere but to "keep that lawyer away from

here."

 

A model program, according to my view, would be headed by a full-time

social worker or psychologist who has thoroughly studied child abuse,

emotional trauma, and the treatment of both. The treatment of domestic

violence is largely the treatment of emotional trauma, quite often

posttraumatic stress disorder.

 

The director would also have enough training in neuropsychology to

recognize the possible presence of traumatic brain injuries. In

addition, there would be an attorney with training and experience in

abuse retained on a contractual on-call basis.

 

An ideal shelter would care for both the mother and her children, but

certainly not in an institutional environment as is mostly the case.

The ambiance would be resort-like and would provide ample privacy.

Instead of making the victims prepare their own meals and clean their

own quarters, they would be regarded as guests who had earned the

right to special consideration through what they had suffered.

 

A family physician, a pediatrician, and a gynecologist would be on-

call, contractually. Instead of riding in a van to a clinic, guests

would receive their medical care on-sight. There would be a play area

for children, well supervised by gentle staff.

 

There might be an exercise room, but certainly a very pleasant social

area, attractively and comfortably furnished. Each individual room

would have its own bath and be equipped with TV, plush carpet, and

other amenities.

 

One might say that the expense would be prohibitive. However, that is

not the case, as professional fees would be covered by third-party

payors, such as Medicaid, private insurance, or grant funding. The

facility itself could be constructed with the help of an allocation of

the city or county budget, or perhaps through private or corporate

gifts.

 

Specialized individual and group treatment would be available on a

daily basis, including weekends, but attendance would be optional when

first admitted. A full-time nurse who understands the issues and is

perhaps a survivor would be a key staff member.

 

In brief, any connotation of punishment, discipline, or forced

confinement must be completely reversed because, after all, the victim

believes that she deserves punishment. That mindset is one of the

first that must be countered.

 

This article has been furnished courtesy of St. James the Elder

Theological Seminary, Jacksonville, Florida, Fr. Heyward B. Ewart,

III, Ph.D., president. More information at

http://www.child-to-adult-victim.com