Domestic Violence Rises In New York City

April 6, 2012

How’s this for the first sentence of an article “As funding has steadily dwindled to help New Yorkers escape domestic violence situations, the number of deaths from abuse has sharply increased in the past three years.” Yikes!

That is the opening of an article that appeared in The Metro newspaper, a free commuter newspaper (http://www.metro.us/newyork/local/article/1139269—the-big-issue-as-budgets-drop-domestic-violence-on-the-rise-in-new-york).  The article goes on to say “Advocates are worried that, as the city puts together next year’s budget, the City Council will not renew funding for groups that help domestic violence victims.” The article also points out that murder from domestic violence went up in 2011 to 92 deaths vs. 77 reported in 2010.

No one really can say with certainty what has caused the increase but it is widely believed that the recession has caused more stress in families. I am not surprised. Funding has been cut in many localities for domestic violence which means that shelters have no choice but to scale back on services. It’s a vicious cycle and many women and their families will remain at risk.

The money from the city is used for a number of programs like legal help and housing. If victims can’t get affordable housing they may have no choice but to return to the abuser. If funding cuts persist more women and their children will remain at risk.

VAWA Still In Limbo

April 5, 2012

VAWA (The Violence Against Women Act) is still in limbo. According to an article in The Seattle Times (http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2017895763_violence03m.html) the Senate will take up the reauthorization of VAWA later this month.

As the article states “The legislation would continue grants to local law enforcement and shelters for battered women; expand services to Indian reservations and rural areas; add more free legal assistance for victims; and add “stalking” to the behaviors considered domestic violence.” The proposed bill would also cut spending by 17% from the 2005 level.

VAWA has always been re-authorized by unanimous consent. Now it’s a political football - and the lives of victims and their families are at stake. It’s important to keep the pressure on your Senator’s and Congresspersons (http://www.usa.gov/Contact/Elected.shtml) and let them know that VAWA must be reauthorized. You’ll be helping a lot of women in need if you do.

On behalf of those women, thank you.

Children Who Witness Domestic Violence Have Lower IQs

April 4, 2012

The list of identified adverse effects due to domestic violence keeps growing. Yesterday MarketWatch reported that a new study completed by the researchers at Boston Children’s Hospital and the Institute of Child Development at the University of Minnesota shows that “children exposed early in life to interpersonal trauma (maltreatment or witnessing partner violence against their mothers) have lower IQ-related scores at 2, 5 and 8 years of age” (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/maltreatment-or-witnessing-family-violence-can-lower-a-childs-iq-2012-04-03).

According to Michelle Bosquet Enlow, PhD of the Department of Psychiatry at Boston Children’s Hospital “You can think of trauma as an environmental toxin similar to lead.” “Just as we need to eradicate lead exposure to protect IQ, we hope our results will spur efforts to identify families at risk and intervene to prevent this from happening. Maltreatment and violence exposure tend to be seen as criminal justice or social service issues, but they’re also important public health issues.”

Ms. Bosquet Enlow likened the effects of domestic violence on children as a public health issue similar to lead! Domestic violence hurts us all and now we know that the futures of millions of children are at stake.

Workplace Homicides and Domestic Violence

 April 2, 2012

A recent study talks about the role of domestic violence (aka intimate partner violence) has on workplace homicides of women.  According to the report (http://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S1047279712000245?via=sd )  “between 2003 and 2008, 648 women were feloniously killed on the job. The leading cause of workplace homicide for U.S. women was criminal intent, such as robbing a store (n = 212; 39%), followed by homicides perpetrated by a personal relation (n = 181; 33%). The majority of these personal relations were intimate partners (n = 142; 78%). Over half of workplace homicides perpetrated by intimate partners occurred in parking lots and public buildings (n = 91; 51%).”

Many of us have read news reports of women who have been murdered by their intimate partner at work – and this report clarifies what we all know – women are killed at work by their intimate partners. This obviously creates great demands on companies of all sizes and types.

 Intimate partner violence goes to work and every employer needs to put in place procedures to keep all employees safe. A perpetrator’s target may be his partner but other employees can get caught in the cross fire. 

What is your company doing to deal with workplace violence caused by intimate partner violence? If you need a plan (and you do!) contact me at nancy@thebusinessofme.com.

Domestic violence is a very public issue that affects every employer and yes, it can happen at your company!

Postpartum Depression Tied To Domestic Violence

March 30, 2012

According to an article in Reuters (http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/03/29/us-postpartum-idUSBRE82S16N20120329) moms who suffer from postpartum depression are “more likely to be in a violent relationship than moms without depression and new mothers in abusive relationships are more likely to suffer postpartum depression, according to a new survey of women with infants.”

The results of this study are not surprising to me. Domestic violence is a cause of many physical and mental/emotional conditions and based on this study we can now add postpartum depression to the list.

Tasteless

March 29, 2012

Many of you may have heard about the restaurant Chops and Hops in Watkinsville, Georgia that received a lot of attention when it posted its recent “celebrity sandwich” of the week on Facebook. The celebrity sandwich of the week was the “Black &Bleu”.  Part of the description of the sandwich states “Put your hands on this caribbean black and bleu sandwich. Caribbean spiced marinated sliced ribeye blackened then look out for the bleu cheese, sliced tomato, silver Lamborghini onions, and shredded romaine. Chris Brown won’t beat you up for eating this unless your name starts with an R and ends with A.” This is not the first time the restaurant “poked fun” at a celebrity. After Whitney Houston died the celebrity sandwich of the week was topped with powdered sugar and sea salt which obviously poked “fun” at her cocaine addiction.

The Facebook post created a number of comments and news articles (http://rapfix.mtv.com/2012/03/28/sandwich-named-after-rihanna-chris-brown/) about the celebrity sandwich of the week. The comments ran the gamut from praise to complete distain for the restaurant.

The restaurant certainly capitalized on the old adage “any publicity is good publicity”.  I know a number of eateries that have celebrity named dishes but none of them exploits tragedy. In my opinion Chops and Hops is employing “tasteless” marketing tactics and I am appalled. Enough said….

New York State Needs To Pass The Aggravated Domestic Violence Bill

March 27, 2012

According to a story reported in the New York Daily News (http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/manhattan-da-cyrus-vance-calls-tougher-domestic-abuse-laws-article-1.1050147) at the current time, in New York, the sentence for beating your intimate partner is the same as jumping a turnstile. Also according to the article if someone hurts his partner over and over he still receives “the same penalty he did the first time — a mere misdemeanor”.

The good news is the “Aggravated Domestic Violence Bill” to increase sentencing for repeat abusers passed the Assembly a year ago. The bad news is the bill was shelved by the state Senate Republicans last week. It seems that the state Senate is too busy with other bills. The Republicans claim that the Democrats have put forth over 300 bills and they can’t figure out the priorities – DUH!

This reason astounds me. I, like many of you, have worked for companies where “everything” is a priority and needed to get done – so we would do what we needed to do to “get it done”. My message to NYS assembly is DO IT – and don’t’ give us any lame excuses about determining priorities.

If you live in NY and are as appalled as I am contact your NYS Senator and tell them to pass the “Aggravated Domestic Violence Bill” (use this link to contact your senator http://www.nysenate.gov/senators).

Vote Them Out Of Office

March 26, 2012

My Facebook friend Debby Eisemann shared this link (http://www.addictinginfo.org/2012/03/13/wisconsin-gop-to-battered-women-dont-get-divorced/).  Many of you may know about Wisconsin Representative Don Pridemore who believes that single parenthood is akin to child abuse. He says that knowing full well that most single parent households are headed by women.

His misogynistic views also spill over into domestic violence. He believes women who are abused by their partners should not seek divorce.  According to Representative Pridemore “If they can refind those reasons and get back to why they got married in the first place it might help.” He is obviously clueless about domestic violence. As we know domestic violence is about power and control not about “refinding the reasons they got married in the first place.” Ironically, Mr. Pridemore also chairs the “Children and Families” Committee – unbelievable!  So his views carry a lot of weight.

There are Don Pridemore’s in many states – and they are developing and passing legislation that is harmful to women.  The good news is Mr. Pridemore is up for re-election in 2012, so the women of 99th District in Wisconsin can take a stand and vote him out!

Many of you know that I do not write about or involve myself in politics – my concern is helping victims of domestic violence. Unfortunately there are many public officials who believe that we are living in 1912 not 2012 and would roll back women’s rights – and this is deadly for women and their children.

We can all write and talk about how outrageous Mr. Pridemore and those like him are but the real power we have is in the voting booth. I urge all of you to find out about the views of all your elected officials on the local, state and federal level and  if their views are harmful to you and your children – like Mr. Pridemore’s – then vote him and others like him out of office! We can show them that we are not going to tolerate their misogynist views any longer.

Domestic Violence Is A Workplace Issue

March 23, 2012

Domestic violence does not “stay home” it goes to work too.  Millions of victims work in companies across the country and this presents a major safety issue for employers. According to an article in Fortune (http://money.cnn.com/2008/11/18/news/Domestic_violence_morris.fortune/index.htm) “contrary to popular opinion, studies show that battered women are more likely to be employed than not. And spousal abuse occurs at work with surprising regularity”. I know – I was one of those working women who endured domestic violence.

Domestic violence abuses the bottom line of every employer. Domestic violence causes companies billions of dollars of lost productivity, lost work days and increased costs due to turnover and retraining. It also increases medical insurance costs (it is estimated that approximately $4 billion of increased medical costs are attributed annually to domestic violence). Security of all employees is at risk and it affects overall morale as other employees fear for their safety.

Domestic violence is not only a human problem…It’s a bottom line problem….What will you do?

According to the Fortune article many CEOs are saying “it’s time for corporate America to confront the issue head-on. Domestic violence affects the bottom line, they say. It threatens workplace safety. As an HR issue, it’s much more volatile and potentially more dangerous than drug addiction or alcoholism.”

Don’t wait until a tragedy happens at your office before you take action – the lives of all your employees are at stake and it is up to you to ensure their safety – and I can help. Contact me at nancy@thebusinessofme.com for information about how to keep your employees safe at work.

The Mirkarimi Problem - Police and Domestic Violence

Sheriff Ross Mirkarimi of San Francisco has pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of false imprisonment regarding an incident in which he allegedly inflicted a bruise on his wife, Eliana Lopez, during a heated argument. Sheriff Mirkarimi is an elected official.  San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee has filed official misconduct charges against Mirkarimi (http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2012/03/20/MN601NNR16.DTL). It will now be up to the Board of Supervisors to vote to remove him.

Sheriff Mirkarimi is one of many police officers who have been accused of domestic violence. I did a Google search and found that there were sixteen police officers, on just the first two Google page results, that were arrested on domestic violence charges– obviously Mirkarimi is not alone.

According to an article published in Sanctuary for the Abused (http://abusesanctuary.blogspot.com/2009/07/when-abuser-is-police-officer.html) “All abusers employ similar methods to control and abuse their intimate partners. Officers however, have an arsenal of skills and tactics not commonly possessed by civilians. Professional training in the use of force and weapons, intimidation, interrogation and surveillance techniques along with the cultural climate coalesce into a dangerous and potentially lethal combination in a domestic situation.”

An article in JSOnline in Milwaukee, Wisconsin (http://www.jsonline.com/watchdog/watchdogreports/police-department-ignores-national-standards-for-officers-accused-of-domestic-violence-132868198.html) states “officers who abuse their spouses or romantic partners are allowed to keep their jobs, carry loaded weapons and respond when battered women call for help.”   This is frightening!

Sheriff Mirkarimi is the most high profile police officer accused of domestic violence - there are many others we never hear about. My hope is that this opens a real discussion about how police organizations should deal with those officers and find ways to keep their partners safe.