Cleaveland: Tennessee 3rd in nation for domestic violence deaths

photo Dr. Clif Cleaveland

The scene is etched into my memory.

The young mother of three came to the Appalachian clinic where I temporarily worked. She had been beaten by her husband a day earlier when he learned that she had been taking birth control pills without his knowledge.

Both her eyes were blackened. Her face was bruised and her lips swollen. She was toothless. One of the blows had dislodged her full dentures, which her husband then stomped to bits. She wanted a referral to a dental clinic for replacement dentures.

Over her protests, I called the solitary social worker for the clinic, and she expertly took charge of this tragic situation. I learned subsequently that the brutalized woman had declined to press charges of assault against her husband.

This was the saddest of the various instances of domestic abuse which I encountered in my years of clinical practice. Recent stories of violence against women and children perpetrated by players in the National Football League may suggest that this is infrequent, aberrant behavior in our society. This is not true.

Domestic violence ranges across all economic, social, racial and ethnic divisions within our country. Episodes may be characterized by repeated physical attack, continual psychological harassment and/or sexual assault. Children are often included in the abuse. Alcohol and drug usage may stimulate violent impulses.

The perpetrator of violence, a male in the great majority of cases, seeks to establish total control of the spouse or girlfriend. If his partner tries to end the relationship, he typically uses such threats as loss of financial support, loss of access to children or even more violent outbursts. He will seek to isolate her from friends and family while steadily eroding her self-respect.

Typically, a victim will make several attempts to leave the relationship before actually doing so. The most dangerous time for the victim is when she is about to leave. Sometimes the victim returns to the relationship after the abuser promises that he has changed.

Consider these statistics from The National Coalition Against Domestic Violence:

• Each year more than 1 million women are victims of domestic assault.

• Twenty-five percent of women will be victims of domestic violence at some point in their lives.

• Most incidences of domestic violence are never reported to law enforcement authorities.

• One-third of female homicide victims are killed by intimate partners.

Tennessee ranks third in our nation in numbers of women who die at the hands of domestic partners. In Chattanooga and Hamilton County, Partnership for Families, Children, and Adults (partnershipfca.com) provides a Crisis Hotline (423-755-2700) to provide immediate information and assistance. Case workers are continuously available, if the call indicates a need for intervention or safety planning.

Last year, more 10,000 calls related to domestic violence and rape were managed by the volunteers manning the hotline. Partnership works closely with the sheriff's department, the district attorney and the Children's Advocacy Center, among others, to provide the necessary care for victims.

Partnership operates the only shelter in Hamilton County for victims of domestic violence, many of whom bring children with them. In 2013, almost 7,500 bed-nights of shelter were provided. More than 150 families for whom there was no available space were accommodated in other safe spaces.

Victims may remain in the shelter for up to three months, during which time they may receive psychological counseling along with assistance with employment, permanent housing and schooling for children. Think of this support as righting a derailed life.

The Rape Crisis Center at Partnership provided comprehensive help for more than 300 victims last year, working in collaboration with law enforcement, physicians and hospitals. Services included the full spectrum of forensic examinations by medical professionals, counseling and professional advocacy on behalf of victims.

Domestic violence briefly dominates headlines when committed by someone famous. But countless victims suffer in silence, too often afraid to seek assistance that is readily available in our area. Until we can figure out how to decrease the incidence of this abiding calamity, Partnership offers a vital lifeline.

Contact Clif Cleaveland at cleaveland1000@comcast.net.

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