background research on domestic violence

Domestic violence seems to be a problem that continues to plague our society, despite efforts to combat it and raise awareness on behalf of victims. Dr. W. Clark Bennett calls it a “pandemic,” citing that every day four more women in the United States die from domestic violence and on an average day, about 61,000 victims require assistance from an intervention agency. He goes on to say that according to the American College of Emergency Physicians, domestic violence is the number one reason women ages 15-44 visit emergency rooms (http://www.tcpalm.com/news/2011/aug/30/dr-w-clark-beckett-a-real-pandemic-151-domestic/).

Recently, the US has come under scrutiny by the UN for its policies involving domestic violence. The UN’s Special Rapporteur on violence examined several cases in which the government did not do enough to protect women who needed assistance, focusing on a case in Colorado in which no action was taken by police or officials when an ex-husband, who was under a restraining order, violated that order, though his ex-wife called authorities multiple times imploring them to take action. The Rapporteur found that there was “little in terms of ‘federally binding’ provisions to protect women against domestic violence, or to prevent the acts in the first place” (http://www.channel4.com/news/us-breaching-human-rights-of-domestic-violence-victims).

The state of South Carolina defines criminal domestic violence as “causing physical harm or injury to a person’s own household member, or offering or attempting to cause physical harm or injury to a person’s own household member with apparent present ability under circumstances reasonably creating fear or imminent peril” (http://www.scvan.org/domestic_violence_qa.html).  In SC, the Dept. of Social Services has been the primary institution involved with domestic violence prevention. In 1988, a system of emergency shelters was established across the state, each providing a twenty-four hour crisis line, client needs assessment, temporary emergency shelter, individual and group counseling, legal advocacy, and assistance with obtaining housing and employment. Nearly 10,000 victims have been assisted by these shelters since their establishment (http://www.state.sc.us/dss/fv/).