Help: Domestic Violence Resources and Barriers in Louisville
With the pandemic requiring us to stay at home in 2020, a subsequent rise in incidents of domestic violence followed. Two years later, the number of reported domestic violence related homicides in Louisville totaled more than 2020 and 2021’s numbers combined. One specific murder over the summer, had a lasting effect on Elizabeth Wessels-Martin, who serves as the President and CEO at the Center for Women and Families. “In this case, the victim made a statement shortly before her death that she didn’t know how to get help.” Despite there being many resources available, many victims find themselves in the same boat.
The Wide Range of Services
Understanding the variety of resources available is a hurdle that blocks many from searching for help. “If victims already have a safe place to stay, it can be hard to convince them to reach out and call us because a common misconception is the only resource is shelter,” says Elizabeth. But as she notes, resources for domestic violence victims reach far beyond just housing. Safety planning is one such resource.
“When perpetrators are losing control, finding their victim becomes their fulltime job,” says Elizabeth. As such, one of the first things the Center does with clients is create a safety plan. Through safety planning, victims are encouraged to talk about things and answer questions about certain experiences in their lives that they may not commonly think about. Elizabeth says: “Yes, you have taken out an EPO [emergency protective order]. Yes, you are staying at your daughter’s house. But let’s talk about the path you take to work. Where do you get your nails done? What time do you go to the gym every day?” A proper safety plan can help keep that distance between the parties in place and ultimately be a lifesaving tool.
The Center also offers legal advocacy and services. Advocates provide legal information on the mechanics of filing an emergency protective order, accompaniment to court, and emotional support though the judicial process. And while legal representation isn’t included, advocates can connect victims to other resources such as the Robert and Sue Ellen Ackerson Law Clinic, whose student attorneys (under the supervision of a law professor and staff attorney), represent clients in EPO hearings, divorce actions, and housing cases, free of charge.
Trusting the System
A lack of trust in the legal system also contributes to victims choosing to not to seek resources. Elizabeth explains how perpetrators establish this lack of trust to their advantage. “The brainwashing through emotional and psychological abuse is a tool that perpetrators use to gain power and control, and often begins long before the first physical assault happens”, she says. “Victim are told by their perpetrators that no one is going to believe them, no one is going to help them, and authorities will think they’re crazy”, she continues. This is all a part of the process of isolating the victim and rendering them less likely to trust the judicial system for help. “Victims hear us when we tell them about the help that is out there, but due to the brainwashing, the trust isn’t there”, Elizabeth says.
Of course, trust in the system is also eradicated by the results of the judicial. “Domestic violence is difficult to prosecute and if people are unable to hire attorneys that truly understand this specific crime, it is easy for them to lose their case”, Elizabeth says. She points to the many cases she’s seen in Louisville where perpetrators have been placed on home incarceration but have still abused or killed their victim. “Remember, for many perpetrators, controlling and abusing their victim has become their full-time job. So, an ankle bracelet is supposed to prevent that?” For many victims, it can be hard to trust a system in a society that still views domestic violence as a personal family matter on a lower level compared to other crimes.
“Why don’t they just use the internet?”
It’s true that information on local resources is just a Google search away. But even simple internet searches are filled with nuance in the domestic violence world. There is the obvious socioeconomic barrier of not everyone having access to the internet. But even when the internet is available, using it can pose a danger. An internet search history can place a victim in danger if their perpetrator discovers a search for help. And when both parties live together, the risk of the perpetrator catching a victim in the act of researching resources may be too great to take. “We saw a 20% decline of people reaching out to us during the Covid lockdown and we knew it wasn’t because they didn’t need us but rather, because they couldn’t reach us,” says Elizabeth. Because if this danger, websites like the Center’s, include “quick escape” buttons that allow users to quickly close the site if the perpetrator is nearby.
When it comes to increasing the spread of resource information, Elizabeth says bold and brave conversation about domestic abuse is the key. “As a society, we are still so afraid to stick our nose in someone else’s business,” she says. “But we must be brave to the point where if we see an interaction with a couple and we’re thinking ‘wow, that’s pretty rough’, we can say something to the victim.” Through a quick coffee or break room conversation, information can be shared of the resources at a victim’s disposal, including the Center for Women and Families, Up for Women, TARC’s Ride for Safety Program, and the Ackerson Law Clinic. Sitting idly by with a “that’s none of my business attitude” however, can be a fatal mistake.
“It makes me sick every time I hear of something bad happening and someone saying ‘oh, I wish I had done something,’” Elizabeth says.
“Well, you might have saved a life if you did.”
