Domestic violence solutions elusive, but must be sought

Editorials

October 12, 2006

Anonymous The Daily Southerner Thu Oct 12, 2006, 11:47 AM EDT

Just as it seems we are making progress in the effort to prevent domestic violence, abusers find new ways to unhinge the sense of accomplishment.

But domestic violence is a crime against the state and the state must continue to seek ways to keep its citizens safe. A recent murder shows the need for more security at domestic violence shelters.

Law enforcement and the courts must be more consistent in taking a highly proactive role in prosecuting cases of abuse.

And it is critical that adequate, reliable mental health services be available both for victims and perpetrators of abuse.

Just over two years ago, North Carolina lawmakers passed a tough new domestic violence law that establishes a felony charge for cases involving assault by strangulation when the victim is injured, imposes stiffer penalties, requires those convicted of domestic violence to undergo treatment and requires training in domestic violence for law enforcement officers.

The state also has pro-arrest and evidence-based prosecution laws, meaning police can make an arrest without a warrant in certain domestic abuse incidents and that district attorneys can go forward in domestic abuse cases with photographic or other evidence obtained by police if the victim refuses to testify.

But that didn’t stop the killing of Bonnie Woodring, 48, inside a shelter for abused women in Jackson County on Sept. 18. The search continues for her estranged husband, John “Woody” Woodring, who is believed to have shot her.

And it didn’t stop the killing of Gloria Solis-Zelaya, who was murdered Sept. 25 at her Hendersonville home. Her husband, Joel Zelaya Rivera, 25, has been charged with the murder.

It must be acknowledged that it would be virtually impossible to make a person entirely secure from an obsessive and determined killer, but the killing of Woodring points to the need for every shelter to have secure doors and locks that prevent a would-be killer from getting past a reception. Security cameras and panic buttons should also be part of every shelter’s design.

Providing security guards for every shelter would be costly and some shelter directors say they would rather see more spent on education and other programs that are more likely to have a deterrent effect.

Judges receive some training in handling domestic violence cases where the victim refuses to testify, but magistrates don’t, which means they sometimes won’t issue warrants. Those involved in the criminal justice system, whether law enforcement officers, magistrates, prosecutors or judges, must be unrelenting in pursuing domestic violence cases, whether or not the victim cooperates.

The state should provide training at every level to insure officials understand how to successfully prosecute such cases.

The state mandates that those convicted of domestic violence participate in a domestic violence education program, but doesn’t pay for the programs, which are provided by non-profit domestic violence organizations around the state.

The courts should not only mandate domestic violence education for offenders, it should pay for the programs and require continued monitoring to insure that the perpetrator has not reverted to old patterns of behavior.

It would also be worthwhile to offer education programs to domestic violence victims. Many times they have a family history of abuse and have never experienced healthy relationships. And that points to the need for adequate mental health services.

According to Tanya Blackford, executive director of Mainstay in Hendersonville, as many as 70 percent of the women her organization helped last year had been hospitalized because of mental illness.

Anxiety, depression and other mental health problems are common.

Mental health services are also needed for abusers, who often suffer from substance abuse and other mental health problems. That need creates even more urgency for the state to resolve the problems that continue to plague the delivery of mental health services years after a failed reform effort.

For far too many women and their children, domestic violence makes home, a place that should be a sanctuary, into a war zone.

Living in constant fear that some word or action will ignite an explosive, violent rage, they huddle in the trenches of their lives.

Most lack the financial resources to escape their tormentor, and many fear their spouse will attempt to kill them if they leave.

As the two recent cases demonstrate, their fears are justified. Their best hope of a lasting peace comes through education and aggressive prosecution of abusers.

— Asheville Citizen-Times

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