Domestic violence is a crime and should be treated as one
By Rolanda Pierre-Dixon
Deputy District Attorney
Santa Clara County Domestic Violence Unit
San Jose, CA
Domestic violence usually takes place behind closed doors, not in public. A lot of women are too frightened to call the police and report the batterer, or go to a shelter. But if they get badly hurt, they do make it to the hospital. When they do, it's important that we react appropriately. That means making it clear to the victim that we care about them. And that even after the patient is off the table and out the front door, we need to make sure they know that whoever did this to them committed a crime.
Victims are often told by the batterer, "Nobody cares about you," or "Nobody will believe you." When a victim shows up in the ED bruised and bloody and is sent home with the batterer, that enforces that in her mind. She starts to think, maybe he's right. Nobody did anything to him, he got away with it. Treating victims and allowing them to return to the ED again and again isn't the answer. We need to take steps to put the batterer in custody.
When the police are called, some victims don't want any part of pressing charges initially. And, sometimes after a victim has filed a complaint, she starts to change her mind out of fear. But many times, they come around during the process. Women who come in to court fighting us tooth and nail, saying they don't want to testify, are often the first ones to thank us when the guy gets convicted.
They are caught in a difficult position, because they are afraid the batterer will get off and blame them for trying to get him locked up. Since the violence takes place in the home, when it does get reported by medical personnel, it makes for a much stronger case for us as prosecutors. If a woman comes to the ED and tells a nurse that her boyfriend hit her in the eye, and the clinician saw an injury consistent with that explanation, that is evidence we can use. If there is also a photo, that's even better. Jurors want to see what the crime looked like, and a picture makes it real for them.
Later, if the victim becomes frightened and lies about the cause of the injury, without that nurse we have no case. On the other hand, if the nurse says that the injury was consistent with the original explanation, the jury can take that information and convict. With medical evidence, we have a solid case, even if the woman later claims she slipped and fell on a banana peel. We can still prosecute and let the jury decide based on the evidence.
Victims will feel most safe when they see something happen to stop the batterer. I don't see any evidence that reporting laws keep women from getting medical treatment. There may be isolated cases of women sitting in the hospital parking lot who are afraid to go in and get treatment, but that can't stop us from doing our jobs. When a woman goes to the ED and the guy is arrested in the waiting room, she is in a safer position because he is in jail.
If law enforcement doesn't react appropriately, that is a problem. But when the system does respond consistently, and police take the report and arrest the defendant, it will work. Yes, the victim is an adult. But if she is dealing with the effects of battering, her ability to judge what is safe and not safe is not correct. You can't make that judgment call in the midst of all this terror. From 1993 to February 1998, there were 62 deaths from domestic violence in Santa Clara County. I assure you the majority of these women did not think they would end up dead. We need to stop putting the entire burden on the victim to get out of the situation. When you are being terrorized, that is a very difficult thing to do. Health care providers are in a position to assist women.
Not filing a report with the police does not stop a batterer from abusing the victim. The victim of domestic violence is going to get hit again and again. We cannot allow the batterer to keep getting away with that. We need a systemwide response to this problem, and that includes reporting by medical personnel.
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