Overcoming Domestic Violence in Northeast Tennessee: Where To Go From Here

“Back then (1980s), it took a long time for us to get the courage to get out of that environment. Sometimes we believed that there was no way out and nobody to help us.”

That’s what James, a Johnson City resident who grew up in an abusive household, had to say about his experiences, often finding it difficult to seek out help and find resources to overcome the abuse and get out of abusive environments.

Leon Marshall, the Assistant District Attorney of the 1st District who mainly focuses on domestic violence cases, points out that the number of reports of domestic violence in our local area is alarming. “We get about 70–75 domestic assault cases every month and we get about 3,300 calls total every month,” Marshall said.

Marshall also speculates as to why there is a steady trend in the domestic violence statistics in our area saying that many come to see violence as normalized by what they see in their homes that they grew up in. When we add that to the fact that it is so difficult to get people out of abusive environments, this seems to be a recipe for disaster.

“It takes an average of seven incidents before we can get a person to finally leave an abusive home,” Marshall said.

This makes the legal process of getting people out of abusive relationships and environments a long process that not only involves legal measures, but measures taken by advocacy and support groups, who can often only do so much to fight social stigmas.

According to a recent study by the TBI, about 71.8 percent of domestic violence is directed against women, making gender an important part of the discussion about violence in the home. Nationally, between 2001 and 2012, there were 11,766 reported cases of intimate partner violence against women that ended in lethality, according to government sources.

That is almost twice as many deaths as the amount of U.S. soldiers killed in combat in Iraq during that time, with 6,488 dead.

And while Tennessee remains high on the list of domestic violence and lethality, domestic assault has been a central topic of discussion and concern. In 2014, TBI Director Mark Gwyn also expressed this concern for this social problem.

“The large number of related incidents reported to law enforcement necessitates continued awareness about this issue,” Gwyn said.

Though much of the domestic violence in our state is directed against women, not all of it is. Many children grow up in environments in which domestic violence is the norm.

“Lots of people thought it was normal, and sometimes it was harder to get people to believe you. Sometimes, that still sticks with me and makes things hard to talk about.”

James, from Johnson City, grew up in a time where there were even less resources and advocates working for the victims in the area. He says abuse and violence in the home was barely a topic of discussion when he grew up in a home in which a step-father abused both him and his mother.

“It was hard to get help in the ’80s because there weren’t as many mass-campaigns and information on what to do,” he said.

“Lots of people thought it was normal, and sometimes it was harder to get people to believe you. Sometimes, that still sticks with me and makes things hard to talk about.”

In Northeast Tennessee, more resources will soon be available to people facing domestic violence.

The Family Justice Center in Washington County will open on July 1. This will help provide local people with more resources in getting help and counseling, as well as encouragement to get out of abusive homes.

Heather Brack, the site coordinator for the Washington County Family Justice Center, is a long time community advocate of victims of domestic violence, who is particularly passionate about the disproportional violence perpetrated against women and children.

“There is absolutely more work to be done,” Brack said. “We need to educate people.”

Brack says that programs, such as the Family Justice Center and other local shelters and local advocacy groups, ultimately have hopes to save lives, citing that homes where violence is commonplace can often lead to lethality.

She also said that one of the reasons this is the case is that many people in Tennessee own guns and that the violence in homes often escalates.

“People in Tennessee love their guns,” she said.

When acts of extreme violence happen, medical experts are among the first to deal with the situation and talk to the victims.

Tessa Proffitt, a forensic nurse with the Johnson City Medical Center, often deals with cases involving violence against women and domestic violence in the home in general. She has talked to many victims, whom she has also treated, and has pretty much seen it all when it comes to violence. She feels passionate about the work that she does and said that it is important to keep composure and be professional to help the abused.

“At least once a year, I feel done with this,” Proffitt said.

“Sometimes it can weigh you down, but we can’t get too emotionally invested because the defense teams in criminal cases can use that against the victim’s case.”

Proffitt is one of the people who present the forensic medical evidence to juries in cases involving every type of violence as well.

“For the month of April, I have to do 5 court appearances,” Proffitt said. “Sometimes the jury doesn’t understand the evidence presented, so it can be a huge burden on our shoulders.”

Proffitt said that she often sees the same people return to the hospital after violence in the home, and finds it frustrating to send victims back home who often refuse to come forward due to social stigmas.

“Some of them lie to me, and I know how exactly how they got those marks.”

“But, it can be hard, because it is not my job to preach to them though, because I have to keep their trust and treat them,” Proffitt said.

The stigma that keeps people, particularly women, from coming forward in cases of domestic violence is something that Proffitt says needs to be combated by education and advocacy.

“You’re ultimately the only one who can come forward about abuse,” Proffitt said. “We need to educate people about this social problem.”