Show Help available for victims of domestic violence Daphne Draper Staff Writer ARLIER this month E EARLIER Lt Gov Val signed a proclamation naming October Domestic Violence Awareness Month I became personally aware of spouse abuse when I sought shelter at the YWCA in Salt Lake City in October 1987 and while there read a Deseret News article on the subject As I approached the desk at the Y I was led to an office where I was briefly oriented to their procedures and was given a pseudonym for my protection I was then given givena a private bedroom with bed and dresser They gave me a nightgown and a packet of toiletries The YWCA still provides such services The women and children share bathroom and shower facilities and are provided with breakfast and supper each day Children und under r twelve are allowed to share a room with their mothers Twin beds bunk beds and cribs are available The YWCA hopes that women can be on their own in a month However longer term facilities facilities iu s can be ar ar- ranged Women are expected to care for their own rooms and each person is responsible for cleaning another area of the facility Since women usually seek shelter impulsively the YWCA also provides shoes and clothes that have been donated A laundry room is available for those who stay longer than a day or two As part of the Women in Jeopardy program the YWCA expects each woman to attend attend attend at at- tend the Information and Education Support Group meetings dealing with domestic domes domes- tic violence This support group is open to women of the community as well as the residents I went back several times after I was no longer a resident Social workers on loan from the State as well as resident resident resident resi resi- dent counselors conduct the meetings which are Informative Informative informative tive and enlightening The women who direct the meetIngs meetings meetings meet meet- ings have themselves been in abusive situations There is no charge for this service and free day care is provided for children five and under while their mothers attend the meetings which are held twice a week both morning and evening The YWCA has now included included in in- as part of the service t to Women in Jeopardy we well l I t tl it- it w sv se 1 i i. i Y care child check A nurse is provided to check children and also their mothers if they are ill Ruth Bray from the YWCA emphasized that the shelter and the phone lines are open 24 hours a day seven days a week My husband was not generally an abusive an-abusive abusive man and he was always good with the children However because because because be be- cause of many problems I had reached a point of wanting wanting wanting want want- ing to end the marriage Contention was prevalent in our home but he us usually any controlled controlled controlled con con- trolled his temper A couple of isolated incidents sent me meto meto meto to the shelter I stayed at the YWCA for seventeen nights I slept peacefully despite babies and children in adjoining rooms I would rise early SOmetimes Sometimes Sometimes Some Some- times I would eat a quick breakfast to then go home and get my children off to school Their father left each morning at am a.m. so I felt feIt comfortable in coming back to the home Then I would go to work As soon as my husband came home in the afternoon I would return to the Y Since he worked weekends e l 1 I would come home spend th the day with my mv children and do the weekend chores During the time I was at atthe atthe atthe the shelter I filed for divorce and only came home after my husband left I 1 didn't have any problem keeping my children because I did not desert dese t them I simply sought shelter for myself at night The YWCA can ho house se SO 50 women and children for up to 30 days a year The YWCA takes in an average of 1600 abused wives and children a year Shelters are only a short term solution however and the problem is severe An article in the Ladies Home Journal 1990 by Carol CarolLynn CarolLynn CarolLynn Lynn said A woman is bea beaten ten every fifteen seconds and each day at least four women are killed by their according to federal statistics Battery says former Surgeon General C C. Everett Koop is the single most significant cause of injury injury injury in in- jury to women in this coun country try In 1983 a Spouse Abuse Procedures Act was enacted in Utah which makes spouse abuse a Class B misdemeanor punishable by six months in jail or and/or a S 1000 fine Women often do not file a complaint since a fine or jail sentence would mean that 7 v.- v. r f t the victim would suffer monetarily as well as the abuser Police officers are reluctant reluctant tant to make arrests They usually are the mediators and will inform the parties where whereto to get help Family disputes take up a great deal of time and enforcement officers feel that it is a tough situation Twenty three percent of all police officers killed in the theline theline theline line of duty die trying to break up family fights Lois M. M Collins said in the Deseret News article She added Battering Battering Battering Bat is the single biggest cause of injuries to women According to the Journal o of f the American Medical lion tion 1990 22 to 35 percent of all emergency room visits are caused by spouse abuse Thirty four percent of all female homicide victims older than 15 years are killed by their husbands or intimate partners the article added One study estimated that SO 50 percent of adult women have been abused more than once by the man with whom they reside A 1981 survey by Murray A. A Straus PhD Ph.D. director co-director of the Family Research Laboratory at the University of New Hampshire Durham found that 26 percent who responded admitted that there had been violence the t w t 1 i previous year Sixty percent 1 had experienced violence at some time This means that 12 million couples are at risk for abuse in the United States Many women are fighting back They are killing their abusers Former Governor Richard Celeste of Ohio granted clemency to 26 women who had murdered their husbands in self- self defense as a final dramatic act of his governorship Despite Despi e the statistics it seems clear that a still higher percentage of abuse goes on behind closed doors Many women feel trapped or even responsible for this injustice Some women feel that we need stronger laws Loretta Baca a member of the Domestic Violence Advisory Council says Education is the key People must be aware that abuse is a crime too often a violent crime and there is never any excuse excuse excuse ex ex- ex- ex cuse for hitting or abusing another person We want people to be educated about domestic violence before they become victims We want people who are c currently currently cur cur- r- r in abusive situations to know they have options i And we want we want doctors doctors and and other concerned people to know where resources are available to help those who are being abused t d y |