www.buchananreform.com

Community Important In Preventing Abuse
By most accounts, approximately 2 to 4 million women...

...are battered each year. This is an alarming statistic. The cowardly act of domestic violence, whether perpetrated against women or children, must be ended.

The government must prosecute every case it can to the fullest extent of the law. State and local police must provide protection for these women when asked to do so. However, the government cannot force a woman to leave or remove the abuser from the home without the consent of the woman.

One obstacle to bringing batterers to justice and ending domestic violence is the fear they have instilled in their victims. As a result of that fear, many women will not come forward to prosecute their attacker and many even deny that the violence is occurring -- resulting in few convictions and the wide-range of statistics on the actual number of women who suffer at the hands of their spouse.

Because of the unwillingness or inability of many women to come forward and testify against their abuser, the solution cannot be found in the government. The answer to domestic violence must come from community and faith-based organizations that can provide safe-houses, emotional and financial assistance to help women out of violent relationships. Counseling by these organizations may help women to overcome their fear and the shame and guilt that some women also feel. Women must be given every opportunity to leave the home. Potential abusers must also understand that domestic violence will not be tolerated by society and carries tough criminal penalties. Attitudes of the community and the local police can convey that message more effectively than the federal government.