Rural Domestic Violence / Sexual Asault

Violence against rural women

Update in progress May 2008
This section is being updated and revised. Please check back soon for new information.

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ADVOCACY - JUSTICE - LEGAL ISSUES

Advocating for Domestic Violence Victims Who Have Been Arrested for Domestic Violence

One of the effects of stricter laws and policies directing police to treat domestic violence as serious violent crime has been skyrocketing arrest rates of women for domestic violence. In some police departments the percentage of domestic violence arrests of females has shot up to 30 to 40 percent of the arrests. What's most revealing about this massive shift toward arresting more females is the fact that conviction rates for males vs. females remains basically unchanged. Between 90 and 95 percent of domestic violence convictions continue to be convictions of males. Or looking at it from another angle, a study in San Diego found that in cases in which females were arrested for domestic violence, only 6% of those cases resulted in prosecution.

What these and many other studies strongly suggest is that the evidence in most female arrests is so flimsy or non-existent that prosecutors can't justify filing charges, or even if the prosecutor does file, the evidence doesn't stand up in court and the case is quickly dismissed. Clearly, in a significant number of these cases, the officers are mistakenly arresting the victim of domestic violence and not the perpetrator. This is also the conclusion that we and many other victim advocates around the country have come to in dealing with these cases on a day by day basis. All too often, when women are arrested for domestic violence you're dealing with a victim who has been mistakenly designated as a perpetrator.

Women's advocates around the country feel the skyrocketing arrests of females for domestic violence stems from a combination of causes. In some cases outright officer hostility against women, or officer resentment of having to treat domestic violence as serious crime, motivates the arrest. In other cases officers are failing to properly determine the dominant aggressor. In a common variation of this problem, the officer fails to correctly identify defensive wounds and as a result they are arresting women who defend themselves, especially those women who defend themselves successfully. And in another whole set of cases, there are indications that domestic violence perpetrators themselves have gotten increasingly sophisticated at turning the law on women by doing such things as calling 911 themselves or by purposely injuring themselves before police arrive.

To be sure, there are cases in which the arrest of a female for domestic violence is a legitimate arrest. But the observations of victim advocates and studies around the country indicate that in a high proportion of female arrests, it is a domestic violence victim who has been mistakenly arrested. These victims need very special care and advocacy from you in order to keep them safe and to undo the damage that's done by a bad arrest.

How to help a domestic violence victim who has been arrested for domestic violence.
Copyright © Marie De Santis,
Women's Justice Center,
www.justicewomen.com

Sexual violence is NOT gender neutral
-- Most perpetrators of sexual violence are men. Among acts of sexual violence committed against women since the age of 18, 100% of rapes, 92% of physical assaults, and 97% of stalking acts were perpetrated by men.

-- Sexual violence against men is also mainly male violence: 70% of rapes, 86% of physical assaults, and 65% of stalking acts were perpetrated by men (Tjaden and Thoennes 2000).

-- Over 32,000 pregnancies result from rape every year (Holmes et al. 1996)

-- Women are more likely to be victims of sexual violence than men: 78% of the victims of rape and sexual assault are women and 22% are men (Tjaden and Thoennes 2000).

Sexual violence against children
-- Sexual violence starts very early in life. More than half of all rapes of women (54%) occur before age 18; 22% of these rapes occur before age 12. For men, 75% of all rapes occur before age 18, and 48% occur before age 12 (Tjaden and Thoennes 2000).

From National Center for Injury Prevention and Control on Sexual Violence

More

Sexual assault victims retain right to privacy
Julie Kunce Field

Domestic violence and sexual assault persist in Larimer County (Colorado). A Coloradoan front-page headline read: "Woman reports spousal rape."

Victims of domestic violence and sexual assault are well-served in this community by Crossroads Safehouse and the Sexual Assault Victims Advocate Center, whose efforts are assisted, in part, by one critical legal tool: confidentiality. Without this tool, such victims would not be as able or willing to seek help.

Just last year, the law of confidentiality for victims was clarified by the Colorado Supreme Court in People v. Turner (.pdf file). It is worth celebrating the first anniversary of the Turner case for the safety that it helps to guarantee to intimate violence victims. Turner defined the standard for protecting domestic violence and sexual assault victim information. Because of Turner, and recent congressional and Colorado legislation, victims can be assured that whatever information they share with a shelter or advocate will be kept confidential.

In Turner, a criminal defendant tried to obtain information from a Salida domestic violence program about whether his girlfriend had been at the program, and whether she had received help there. The trial court ordered the program to turn this information over to the defendant. The domestic violence advocates refused and were ready to be held in contempt to protect the safety and confidentiality of the victim's information. The advocates did not have go to jail to defy the trial court's order because the Colorado Supreme Court quickly heard the case, and held, in no uncertain terms, that confidentiality is critical to victim safety. The court found that it was important for victims to know, even before going to an agency, that their communications will be confidential.

Just as a client or patient has confidentiality with an attorney, doctor or therapist, so, too, does a victim have confidentiality with a domestic violence or sexual assault advocate. Turner does not apply just to the criminal defendant who might be trying to get a victim's information from a shelter. Because of the profound safety implications if a victim's identity or location is revealed, the law applies regardless of who seeks such confidential information. Even police and other government agencies are prohibited from getting access to victim communications or identifying information under Colorado law.

Since Turner, federal legislation has strengthened confidentiality protections for domestic violence and sexual assault clients who are served by programs (such as Crossroads) that receive certain federal funds. Earlier this year, President Bush signed (and Sens. Ken Salazar and Wayne Allard and Rep. Marilyn Musgrave voted for), the Violence Against Women Act Reauthorization of 2005. And last spring, the Colorado Legislature passed a resolution, sponsored by local representative Angie Paccione, that reaffirmed the need for rigorous protection of domestic violence victim information.

What all this means is that domestic violence and rape victims can be confident that their private information will be kept that way, and that they can seek help from a domestic violence or sexual assault program without worrying that the fact that they sought help, or the type of counseling or help that they received, will become known. Because of Turner, they can share their innermost thoughts and their very real fears and find support and safety. As a result of Turner, and the recent federal legislation, Colorado has the strongest confidentiality protections in the country. That commitment to victim safety and privacy is something that every Coloradoan should be aware of, and very, very proud of. I know I am.

Julie Kunce Field is an attorney in Fort Collins. She is a nationally recognized expert on the law of confidentiality as it relates to domestic violence and sexual assault.
Originally published April 18, 2006

International Suit Filed Against Cops for Ignoring Mom's Pleas
Since even the US Supreme Court has declined to hold police accountable for enforcing restraining orders, one extreme case of officers shirking their duty is headed to the Inter- American Commission on Human Rights.

The plaintiff's three children were taken from her home by her estranged husband in violation of a protective order. She immediately alerted the police and then repeatedly renewed her request for assistance over the next several hours.
The police made no effort to locate the children or enforce Colorado's mandatory arrest law. The children were killed by the estranged husband later that night, and plaintiff sued the Town of Castle Rock, alleging that she was entitled, at the very least, to the Town's reasoned consideration and an explanation for its inaction as a matter of procedural due process. After the Supreme Court's rejection of the mother's claim, American Civil Liberties Union is bringing the case to an international human-rights court. More.

Federal lawsuit on behalf of women patients in Nebraska mental hospitals
A class action has been certified on behalf of women who were subjected to sexual assault, harassment, exploitation and physical assault while patients in Nebraska's mental hospitals.

Hundreds of women will be allowed to join the lawsuit which alleges that patients were sexually assaulted, groped or harassed or were inadequately treated while patients at the state's three mental hospitals located in Lincoln, Norfolk, and Hastings. Full story

Sonoma County Sheriff's Department Sued Again for Sex Discrimination
A sex discrimination lawsuit against the Sonoma County, Calif. Sheriff's Department was filed March 23, 2005 in federal court by a recently resigned deputy and a corrections sergeant. Over the last ten years, the same Sheriff's Department has already paid out over a million and a quarter dollars in at least ten other sex discrimination claims.
Full story from Women's Justice Center

The power of Macias in the Hands of Women
The federal civil rights case of Maria Teresa Macias vs. Sonoma County Sheriff’s Department. Full story

Unprecedented Million Dollar Settlement: Sheriff Held Accountable
In the first ever monetary award by law enforcement for their failure to protect a domestic violence victim leading up to her homicide, the Sonoma County Sheriff's Department agreed to pay a million dollar settlement in the landmark federal civil rights lawsuit of "Maria Teresa Macias vs. Sonoma County Sheriff Mark Hide." Full Story

Online resources from Office of Victims of Crime include:

Rural Victim Assistance: A Victim / Witness Guide for Rural Prosecutors

"The American Prosecutors Research Institute (APRI), with funding from the Office for Victims of Crime (OVC), Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice, has explored the state of victim/witness assistance in rural prosecutors' offices, the challenges these offices face in trying to meet the needs of victims, and promising strategies for overcoming these challenges. This guide will provide prosecutors and prosecutor-based victim/witness advocates with practical and useful information to help them better serve rural crime victims.

Despite downward trends in violent and property crimes in the past several years, the number of rural Americans who are victimized by crime remains troubling. In rural communities in 2001, 21 of every 1,000 people ages 12 and older were victims of violent crimes. Cities with populations of less than 10,000 experienced a nearly 12-percent increase in homicides between 2000 and 2001, while cities with populations of 250,000 or more experienced a slight decline of 0.3 percent during the same period (Rennison 2002).

Victim Advocate Training and Technical Assistance

Reveille for Rural Women
If you're among the multitude that daily wrestles the highway 101 corridor, it's easy to forget the vast areas of Sonoma County that are isolated and deeply rural where hardships can present near insurmountable barriers for rural victims of violence against women. Full story

Rural Advocate Receives Sunshine Peace Award
The Sunshine Lady Foundation, Inc. presented The Sunshine Peace Awards to twenty-four recipients from across the country in recognition of their extraordinary efforts in the domestic violence field. Shirley Erhart of Lemmon, SD was one of the recipients of this award. Winners were selected from over 150 nominations and received a $10,000 prize. Full story.

World Rural Women's Day and Domestic Violence Awareness Month:
An Intersection of Issues
One of the uniquely rural issues around domestic violence is found at the intersection of violence against women and the lack of recognition for and under valuation of rural women's work, including the contribution of farm wives to family farms and of rural women to the sustainability of rural communities. World Rural Women's Day provides rural women and their organizations with a focal point to raise the profile of rural women, sensitize both government and public to their crucial, yet largely unrecognized roles and promote action in their support. Full report

Violence Against Rural Women | Polygamy | Health | Culture Advocacy Legal | Home

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