Can the ‘Victim’ Be the Real ‘Abuser’?

Each year approximately 10 million men and women are affected by domestic violence. When thinking of domestic violence, the last thing that comes to mind is, “wait is he or she is telling the truth?” You never want to doubt someone who claims they have been abused because when it’s true, it truly is a horrible and terrorizing experience. Unfortunately, there are men and women who make false claims about each other during arguments which can have long-lasting effects on the ‘abusers’ life while the ‘victim’ gets to simply walk away. Where is the justice in that?

What counts as Domestic Violence?

According to a domestic violence lawyer, 1 in 3 females and 1 in 4 males have been victim to domestic violence in their relationships. Domestic violence covers a large range of things like:

• Kidnapping
• Emotional abuse
• Stalking
• Harassment
• Videotaping without consent
• Physical violence
• Intimidation

Victims of domestic violence often have a difficult time finding a way out of the relationship due to fear of the aggression progressing and potentially ending in death. Domestic violence is a serious offense that the government does not take lightly when arresting potential abusers. However, a sad fact the legal system is that sometimes people take advantage of it for a myriad of reasons ranging from revenge to mental illness. The fact is that whenever someone makes a domestic violence complaint to the police, they are unable to revoke the charge against the other person- so if their claim is false, it is now the judge’s choice what to do with the false accused ‘abuser’. 700,000 people are falsely accused of committing domestic violence against a partner every year in the United States. These allegations are serious and if they are fabricated, they can inflict unfixable damage to another person’s reputation, career, and family life.

What are the Charges?

The punishment for domestic violence ranges between cases based on the severity of the crime. Typically, if you are accused of a domestic violence offense, the judge will enforce a 30-day jail sentence. However, this allotted jail time can change based on the severity of the situation. Additionally, you could be served with a restraining order from the alleged abuser along with probation and a fine. If you are accused of a domestic violence misdemeanor, this means you are being accused of hurting or threatening to harm a family member and could serve up to a year in jail. If you are convicted of a domestic violence felony, you have committed three or more domestic violence offenses in 84 months, this crime is most commonly associated with aggravated assault. You could face up to 2,3, or 4 years in prison, a hefty fine of multiple thousand dollars, probation, and a potential restraining order.

Facts about False Domestic Violence Claims

Lying about anything is wrong, but putting into perspective the false allegation of domestic abuse can be earth-shattering for the one blamed. Most often, with a domestic violence claim comes a restraining order. A restraining order is designed to prohibit an abuser from contacting the victim. This is a safety procedure put in place so the victim can feel more at ease knowing that the abuser will face even more jail time if he breaks the restraining order. However, 70% of restraining orders are false, or made up. If you put that percentage into numbers, that 1.5 million temporary restraining orders created on false allegations. As citizens of the United States, we pay $20 billion taxpayer dollars spent every year for public services to financially assist homes that were split up due to a false domestic violence allegation. These situations are typically children grow up in single-parent households after the domestic violence claim and they now require government assistance.

The true issue could be said to lie in the court’s hands because a total of 0 United States district attorneys prosecute the alleged ‘victim’ who lied about the domestic violence case. The lack of accountability the courts hold to the lying ‘victim’ could be a reason why the issue of false domestic violence claims has become more prevalent in the news recently. For example, Dante Cunningham, a famous basketball player for the Minnesota Timberwolves, was accused of domestic violence against his girlfriend. His girlfriend alleged he choked her, threw her up against a wall, and kicked down a door. She also obtained a restraining order against Cunningham. He denied all the claims but was arrested at 4 am outside of his house. While Cunningham was pending trial, he was arrested for a second time on the allegation that he violated the restraining order rules by contacting his girlfriend through online messages. Cunningham again denied these claims stating he never had communication with his girlfriend during this time.

Following these false allegations, Cunningham’s fans had turned against him and began booing him at games. Cunningham, once a Timberwolves NBA star, missed out on a potential $4 million-dollar season while he was facing these allegations. Two NBA executives released a quote mentioning that it would be very hard to hire Cunningham to play for their team due to the domestic violence claims- what a PR nightmare. Although an allegation of domestic abuse can change the abuser’s life tremendously, the victim can walk away with no punishment. At the end of the day- just tell the truth.