United effort needed to fight domestic violence

A victim of domestic violence confronts problems of daunting complexity: Should she call the police and hope her abuser won’t retaliate against her? Should she move into a temporary shelter, unsure if she’ll ever be able to return home? Should she risk losing her children to foster care? Should she sue? Should she keep quiet to avoid shame, and pray that she won’t be murdered?

These are questions for which there are only limited and unsatisfying answers. Law enforcement and social service agencies grapple with the problem in their own ways — through aggressive prosecution of abusers or helping victims navigate the available legal, social and economic options.

For the sake of the victims and the community, both approaches are critical to success. But the most important element lies beyond providing services. It lies with the victims, who must be empowered to make their own choices that will work because the system is designed to make them work.

Unfortunately, the data suggests this isn’t happening. Victims are shying away from reporting domestic violence crimes to the police, based on the reasonable assumption that it won’t do much good.

Between 2000 and 2009, reports, arrests and misdemeanor convictions arising out of domestic abuse fell 37, 39 and 35 percent respectively, according to state figures.

At the same time, more victims sought protection through restraining orders and shelters.

Still others avoid the legal system and shelters entirely, choosing, for cultural, family or other reasons, to remain at home.

Advocates like Cindy Spencer of the Domestic Violence Action Center note that many clients believe prosecuting an abuser can drag the abused through a lengthy legal process that, in the end, is unlikely to keep the perpetrator at bay.

It’s a disturbing trend, especially considering the ultimate consequences. Since 2004, the per capita rate of Hawaii men killing women has risen steadily; the state ranked eighth in the nation in 2009.

Too many of those death occurred in Hawaii’s Filipino community, where advocates say that language barriers, cultural factors and economic shackles can prevent women from choosing better options.

But how can public policy empower the victims? One way is to make it easier to exercise that power. The city prosecutor’s office hopes the solution lies with one that’s used in dozens of jurisdictions across the country: the Family Justice Center. It’s a good idea. A Honolulu FJC would place all services under one roof — legal advocacy, career counseling, child care, emergency housing, food stamps, medical insurance and more — providing one-stop convenience for a victim with many problems and few solutions.

The FJC has its critics. Victims-rights advocates fear that an agency run by the prosecutor’s office inevitably will be law enforcement-centric, causing victims — particularly youth runaways and those with substance abuse problems — to shy away. Privacy is also a concern. Will a victim lose control of her confidential information as it is passed among FJC partner groups? Nonprofit agencies also worry that the FJC will suck up most of the scarce federal resources available for domestic abuse services, leaving victims with fewer options for the more flexible, confidential and individualized help provided by nongovernmental agencies.

These are problems, but not insurmountable ones. The FJC offers a model of efficiency that can stretch resources in tight fiscal times. But efficiency is not enough. Domestic violence tears through families, attacking our most personal and intimate values; each case is a unique one, requiring a balance of legal muscle and empathetic care. The FJC, and especially the police, must work closely with private nonprofit agencies to coordinate services and enhance the best approaches available. Turf wars should be avoided.

After all, in the end, solutions don’t lie just in the availability of social service programs or a police force better trained to handle domestic disputes, although these are important. It’s about who ultimately holds the power — the victim or her abuser.

Public policy should be built around encouraging the former, and cutting off the latter.