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Back in March of 2020, Mom-At-Arms, with the help of many experts on Domestic Violence, did some investigating into Women's Shelters.
The article is called Domestic Violence: Continued Abuse and barely anyone read it. It's purpose was to bring awareness to a hidden issue, within the system. An issue that plagues victims of Domestic Abuse almost as much as their abusers. The issue we tried to bring to light is that of shelters and hotlines, that are meant to help abuse victims, were instead padding their pockets and keeping victims waiting in limbo. We discussed how this keeps the names of victims swirling through databases until either, they escape through alternative methods... or they die.
Mom-At-Arms has relentlessly tried to bring awareness to the many faces that Domestic Violence takes. We've even pushed DV REFORM and how Law Enforcement plays a major roll... in attributing to the violence, as well as helping stop it. Police officers are 10x more likely to die while responding to a domestic call. They're also very likely to become a target of rage by the victim, as well... or even become the abuser.
As if things in Wisconsin couldn't get anymore harrier, several law enforcement agencies throughout Barron County, WI cut $25, 000 from a Domestic Violence shelter over the support they promoted for Black Lives Matter.
Honestly, we don't blame them. And that's not a "Pro Cop" thing. Its actually what happens when you work to "defund" an organization. They end up pulling all outside spending.
With that said, please note, when police officers are called in to a DV situation, they have many choices available to them. They can handle these cases subjectively, as most DV cases end up being handled, which gets cops a bad name. Or they can handle things with a mix of deductive reasoning, followed by a mix of subjection and objection- meaning... they get the victim the hell out of there. The choice of the latter is not always the best choice, though, because the officer could lose their own lives in the process. Is that fair?
These are hard choices for officers. They're bound by an oath with a lingering sense of Serving and Protecting, but who protects them when an abuser has the upper hand?
Per the Department of Justice, NIJ Report:
Given the large numbers adversely affected by domestic violence and that victims‟ prime countermeasure — leaving their abusers — may not stop the abuse, and given the amount of time committed to responding to domestic violence calls and arresting and prosecuting alleged offenders, prosecutors and judges must commit sufficient resources and attention to ensure that domestic violence cases are handled efficiently and effectively. (Research basis: Disparate national surveys, supplemented by local police department and prosecution studies.)
This all depends on the number of police officers trained in domestic issues that are AVAILABLE at certain times, when DV issues are called in most (6pm to 6am).
An officer, not trained in domestic issues, could ultimately cause more harm than good. Its a never ending loop and more and more victims of abuse fall through the cracks.
And for many officers, which choice will have more value: one that goes totally against protocol, saves the victim, but puts their own life in jeopardy? OR... one that makes them not only a target by the abuser, but the victim as well?
This is where BLM support and screaming to Defund the PoPo becomes a huge mess.
WHO ARE YOU GOING TO CALL FOR A DOMESTIC VIOLENCE/ ABUSE SITUATION?
Especially when COPS are the ones that are mostly activated to handle these types of things?
OR are you gong to call BLM?
Per the Blackburn Center:
More disturbingly, Black women are 2.5 times more likely to be murdered by men than white women. In the overwhelming majority of these cases — 92% — the person who killed them knew their victim. 56% of these homicides were committed by a current or former intimate partner. Nearly all —92% — of these killings were intra-racial, which means that they were committed by a Black man against a Black woman.
With statistics like these, the Black Women’s Health Project determined that domestic violence is the number one health issue facing Black women.
That's right! Black women are more susceptible to domestic violence than any other race.
And if there are organizations working diligently to keep all women from being able to protect themselves, what else are these women... not just black women... supposed to do? And since Gun Rights orgs can't "arm all the women" (or victims in general) in a timely fashion... They only have a few choices... and none of them are concrete... but calling the cops sounds the easiest and quickest.
So, its not a good look for Domestic Violence VICTIMS or Shelters to be screaming for the Police to be defunded. It also raises red flags for ANYONE in the Gun Control OR Gun Rights community to do the same. Its actually more devastating to those who do rely on law enforcement for protection. (That's not saying LE Agencies don't need some restructuring.)
With the world coming out of the crap shoot of a "pandemic" that kept many home... alone... with their abusers, you'd think one would look into... I don't know... reaching out to law enforcement agencies to work on solutions.
Instead, more victims were made.
Sometimes your freedom has consequences for those who can't escape so easily, so Stop jumping on bandwagons without thinking them all the way through.
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