Mar 18, 2010
The mindsets of domestic violence victims
Maybe I’m naive, but two questions gnawed at me as I began reporting my story in Friday’s paper about the District Court judge who married a man suspected of domestic violence to his alleged victim on the day of trial:
1) Why would a victim agree to marry her alleged abuser?
2) Why would she not testify against him?
Prosecutor Stephen Roscher, who heads the family violence division in the Baltimore County State’s Attorney’s Office, summed it up.
“The internal dynamic when we deal with domestic violence victims is completely different than any other crime,” he said.
He and Dorothy Lennig, director of the House of Ruth‘s legal clinic, cited a number of potential contributing factors. Their list is similar to the one offered by the National Center for Victims of Crime.
“Domestic violence is about power and control,” Lennig said.
Knowing that, Roscher has worked with county police on domestic violence case protocol for more than a decade and regularly talks to new recruits about the topic. The strategy, which has been adopted across the country, is to “assume the victim is not going to be cooperative at the time of the trial,” Roscher said.
That’s why police thoroughly document a suspected domestic violence crime scene and get a statement and photos of the victim. That’s why 911 calls are analyzed for “excited utterances” (which can be admitted in court, even though they’re hearsay) and for anything out of the ordinary, Roscher said.
All of this allows Roscher to prosecute a case even without the victim taking the witness stand. It can be challenging, he said, but it’s never impossible.
“There’s never been a murder case where the victim has testified,” Roscher said.
i was a victim i tried to testify it seem like i cant get any help and i dont know what to do it can be challenging but i would like to think that its impossible but its hard to because wheres the help.
There are as many reasons why as there are victims. Some I can think of off the top of my head (as an attorney who used to represent DV victims/survivors):
1. They are afraid they will not prevail in court.
2. Statistics have shown that the most dangerous – and sometimes lethal- time for a victim is when she leaves an abusive relationship.
3. She still loves the guy.
4. Time has passed since the last battering incident, he is so sooooo sorry and has convinced her that he will change
and they are going through the “honeymoon period” of the cycle of violence.
5. She grew up with violence in her own home or things have gotten worse gradually and this is “normalized” to her. (I know I did not put that well. Sorry!)
6. It takes most victims of DV about seven tries before they finally leave – maybe this was early on in the “relationship.”
There are probably a gazillion other reasons. But the vast majority of women who leave abusive relationships continue on to have healthy ones. We should be sure they survive to do so.
Take care and thanks for the article. It’s a shame that in this day and age, we all still need to be educated on the complexities of domestic violence.