A new study about domestic violence from the University of Toledo’s college of law released some rather disturbing trends.
The study, “Shattered Lives: A Report of Domestic Violence Fatalities In Lucas County Ohio, 2003-2006“, found that deaths from domestic violence and murder-suicides are on the rise.
A story about the report was posted on the Toledo Blade on April 3rd:
Despite the lowest murder rate in Lucas County since 1964, deaths from domestic violence are on the rise – and they may be hard to prevent through the justice system.
That was one of the conclusions reached by a study of domestic violence in Lucas County conducted by students and faculty members at the University of Toledo’s college of law.
In many of the cases, there were no prior arrests and no legal history, the study found.
The study found that nearly half the homicides related to domestic violence were either “murder-suicides” or defensive murders. Nearly 20 percent of the victims were under age 7.
“There’s a public perception that these cases escalate over time through the criminal justice system,” said Gabrielle Davis, a UT professor of law. “In about half of the cases, that wasn’t true.”
The study recommended better education and further screening for domestic violence outside the court system, such as in hospitals and through social service agencies.
“I think that one of the most important things is that we provide systematic training in recognizing domestic violence, and providing individualized safety planning to anyone who needs it wherever they are,” Ms. Davis said.
Between 2003 and 2006, there were 49 deaths related to domestic violence – 33 homicides and 16 suicides, according to the study.
The numbers have risen from four homicides in 2003 to 12 homicides in 2007.
Most of the victims of domestic violence homicide were women, but a majority of the young victims were boys.
The study showed that seven of the 33 homicide victims were under 7 years old. Four of the 10 male victims were under 7 years old, according to the study.
Lynn Jacquot, director of the Toledo YWCA’s Battered Women’s Shelter, said the results showed the need for vigilance throughout the community.
“In most cases, someone else knows,” Ms. Jacquot said. “What often happens is that we think it’s a personal problem.
“We forget, it’s a community issue.”
GunGuys.com posts at least 10 shootings per weekday in our feature, “America’s Shooting Gallery” — click here for our archive.
Just looking at our compilation of shootings, it’s hard not to be taken aback by the sheer number of murder-suicide stories we post each week.
A large majority of murder-suicides are carried out by jealous, unstable, controlling, abusive or broken men who arm themselves with a gun and use it in a final act of desperation and violence to prove their power over the women in their lives. Some gun owners will even resort to killing their own children before killing themselves. They are the most heart wrenching stories to read.
But the gun lobby’s twisted response to domestic violence by armed men is to actually encourage women to buy a gun to protect themselves against their own boyfriends, husbands, lovers, and fathers of their own children.
[Lynn Jacquot] also noted that the report found most of the deaths occurred along with “separation, jealousy, alcohol and drugs, and stalking.”
“It confirms that when a woman is leaving, or attempting to leave, is the most dangerous time for her,” Ms. Jacquot said. “That is most likely when she’s going to be seriously injured or killed.”
The gun lobby says you can’t rely on 9-1-1. They believe that the most vulnerable should carry the burden of protecting themselves. The solution is the other way around.
Solution:
Prospective gun owners — on this issue the problem is mostly men — need to pass a mental health screening test before getting permission to possess a gun. The test should be renewed consistently.
If a domestic violence report is filed, the police should forcefully search for any and all weapons owned by the alleged abuser. The police should have broad discretion and lean on the side of protecting women and not worrying about a batterer’s “gun rights”. If a woman’s charges of domestic violence are unwarranted, then a gun owner can get their rights restored later — that’s why we have a court system and procedures. But right now, that’s not the case. An armed abuser has all the power, and as the report above demonstrated, it’s often to late to put the pieces back to together. The focus must be on prevention, and getting weapons away from batterers and implementing policies to keep them from getting more firearms.
It’s imperative that the abuser’s name be put into a comprehensive anti-violence program to screen abusers from obtaining firearms. That means of course instituting a universal background check on all firearm transactions. Such a sensible approach would at least give law enforcement officials better tools to protect women from their attackers.
Finally, implementing a comprehensive program of outreach, counseling and longterm monitoring for domestic abusers is vital. An anti-violence program should also be taught in our schools to raise awareness among young people to understand how to make healthy choices, help instill confidence among young women and teens, and how to recognize the warning signs of domestic violence.
We believe that this domestic violence prevention strategy “should” be implemented. However, we recognize that it would be difficult to implement all these measures due to the clout of the gun lobby and subsequent lack of political will and resources.
In lieu of this, GunGuys.com has considered launching a new “cultural change” campaign with a simple message to young women:
“I Don’t Date Boys Who Own Guns.”
Since efforts to pass legislation have stalled, working on cultural change on the gun issue, especially on domestic violence, is a good place to begin to have an impact for gun violence prevention advocates.
