Domestic Violence Forum Focuses on Ending Scourge of Abuse
Representatives from several local agencies, women’s rights advocates and victims’ services organizations challenged the public to put an end to domestic violence during a forum in White Plains last Friday.
Following several high-profile incidents recently involving NFL players, the panelists discussed how domestic violence isn’t confined to young male sports stars or celebrities.
“This is not about Ray Rice or the NFL. It’s about us and what we do and don’t do to ensure that our children grow up in a world where gender-based violence is never acceptable,” said Maria Imperial, chief executive officer of the YWCA, which hosted the event.
Panelists said in order to eliminate the prevalence of domestic violence, behavioral and cultural changes must be made. They noted that children who grow up in violent households learn the behavior and continue the cycle.
Frank Williams of the White Plains Youth Bureau recounted his own upbringing in Mississippi, where it was commonplace for children to be punished by getting hit with a belt. They were also taught that if someone hits them, they should hit back.
Saying that “when people know better, they do better,” Williams stressed that communities must offer children conflict resolution tools, so they learn to work through issues without resorting to physical aggressiveness. In addition, he urged communities to reach out to children to help bolster their self-esteem and self-respect, noting that they will learn the value of communication and strong relationships and pass that message on to their children.
“It is not just a sports problem, it’s a community problem and it’s a family problem,” Williams said. “In some home today, some child will be spanked. On some block … some child will be bullied. So we have an opportunity today to say, ‘No, we’re not going to allow our young people to live in this kind of environment.'”
CarlLa Horton, executive director of Hope’s Door, a Pleasantville-based organization that seeks to end domestic violence, said that while the organization helps victims of both genders and all sexual orientations, women and children are disproportionately affected by domestic violence. One-quarter of all women will be a domestic violence victim in their lifetime.
Horton urged the public never to blame the victim, regardless of her life choices. She also warned people against ignoring incidents of domestic violence when people they know, love and admire are victims.
Law enforcement and the criminal justice system needs to revamp its practices and introduce new protocols so victims who step forward will be assured justice.
“If a victim with damning and irrefutable video evidence can be betrayed by the criminal justice system, well, what possible chance does a victim behind closed doors at home have?” questioned Horton.
The issue of domestic violence has been a problem in sports for many years, said Assemblywoman Amy Paulin (D-Scarsdale), who attended the forum. Paulin believes that the Rice incident would have been swept under the rug had there not been video footage.
John Savage, CEO of WestCOP, an Elmsford-based organization that manages resources to help the low-income and at-risk populations, urged state and county leaders to fund prevention programs. He wants a campaign launched to make domestic violence socially unacceptable, similar to campaigns combating smoking and littering.
Anti-violence messages also need to reach all populations because domestic violence transcends all racial and economic boundaries, said County Legislator MaryJane Shimsky (D-Hastings-on-Hudson), who also attended last Friday’s forum. Shimsky cited the case of a federal judge in Alabama, Mark Fuller, who was recently arrested on charges of assaulting his wife, but has yet to step down amid public calls for his resignation.
“I think that anything we do as a county, anything we do as a state has to take account of the fact that we don’t have to just correct poor people or people of color,” Shimsky said. “This is a problem that affects way too many of our houses in all of our towns and all of our neighborhoods.”
Assemblywoman Sandy Galef (D-Ossining) added that the Women’s Equality Act, which has been passed by the Assembly but has been thwarted twice in the Senate, aims to address the issue of domestic violence, human trafficking and equal pay for women.
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