Domestic Violence Awareness Month

Domestic violence has been in the news lately because of several recent incidents of violence perpetrated by NFL players. The violence by football players put a spotlight on domestic violence that we have not seen since the OJ Simpson trial. The frequency and severity of domestic violence can vary dramatically and how we view the issue often times depends on our own experience. That is why Domestic Violence Awareness Month was first observed in October 1987. Each year since, we have given the willful intimidation, physical or sexual assault, or other abusive behavior perpetrated by one intimate partner against another a name, and now thanks to the NFL, a face.

The Rice County Attorney’s Office each year has donned ribbons and spoken out against domestic violence as have others in our community. This year my office, Hope Center, and all of law enforcement in Rice County are doing more. We have banded together to submit a grant request for a new effort to stop domestic violence, a pilot program called “The Blueprint for Safety” model.

The Blueprint for Safety originated in St. Paul. The program links a community’s criminal justice agencies together in a coherent, philosophically sound domestic violence intervention model. The Blueprint for Safety is written as a single document with a chapter for each agency within the criminal justice system. The Blueprint is anchored in six foundational principles which maximizes safety for victims and holds defendants accountable while offering them opportunities to change.

The foundational principles are:

1. Adhere to an interagency approach/intervention

2. Build attention to the context/severity of abuse into each intervention

3. Recognize that most domestic violence is a patterned crime requiring continuing engagement with victims and defendants

4. Establish sure and swift consequences for continued abuse

5. Use the power of the criminal justice system to send messages of help and accountability

6. Act in ways that reduce unintended consequences and the disparity of impact on victims and defendants

The Blueprint for Safety is not a collection of good policies; it is a common/unified policy with each chapter linked inseparably to the whole on how to respond and deal with domestic violence. The collaborative approach will contribute to lower recidivism, increased engagement with victims, and lower resistance from abusers to the state’s role in confronting the abuse. The Blueprint presents messages to protect victims and provide defendants with opportunities to change. It also spreads messages of accountability to individuals for the harm caused, to agencies in building and sustaining an effective response, and for fair, respectful treatment of all involved.

As a result of our coming together, we have already begun to identify areas of concern and improvement for Rice County. We have the political will to continue the countywide collaboration and to move forward with things such as better data collection, information sharing, training, and understanding of each player’s role to help improve the response to Domestic Violence in our community.

Domestic violence is an epidemic already on our shores and touching individuals in every community, regardless of age, economic status, gender, or nationality-it is not just an NFL issue. Domestic violence is often accompanied by emotional abuse and controlling behavior which may escalate to physical injury, psychological trauma, and in severe cases, even death. The devastating consequences of domestic violence can traverse generations and last a lifetime which is why each of us must dedicate ourselves to stopping the violence in our homes, neighborhoods and greater community.

IF YOU OR A PERSON YOU KNOW NEEDS HELP, Call

HOPE Center 24 Hour SafeLine:

800-607-2330

Or

1-800-799-SAFE (National Hotline)