U.S. grapples with domestic violence problem

[NNN0LHI]

http://www.swissinfo.org/sen/swissinfo.html?siteSect=143&sid=5710928&cKey=1114172438000

DUMFRIES, Va (Reuters) - Joanna's estranged husband had been mentally abusing her and threatening her for years, but he never lifted a hand against her until one morning in 2002 when he attacked her with a knife in front of their 5-year-old daughter, stabbing her 13 times.

"My daughter was shouting, 'Daddy's killing Mommy.' I lost so much blood the emergency medical team was surprised I survived," Joanna (not her real name) said in an interview.

Three years later, she has undergone a long series of operations but still suffers physical and mental effects. Her ex-husband could be out of prison as early as 2007.

Domestic violence is a huge law and order problem in the United States, and increasingly a hot political issue.

[zanne]

1. What about the recent law passed in Florida regarding...

self defense? Y'know, the one that specifies that you can shoot/kill someone who is threatening you with bodily harm? Does that apply in domestic cases as well? I haven't been able to find out about that, and I think it's important.

[TahitiNut]

6. What'd happen if abused spouses began blowing away their abusers?

Would the Florida SARCs start giving handgun lessons? Would NOW ally with the NRA in Florida? Would the misogynist neocons move to repeal the law?

[Hobarticus]

9. Being that one has to take the survivor's word for it....

I can go shoot my wife, and claim later that she threatened me...conveniently, the only other possible witness to her threat is dead. Am I justified?

I think it's a slippery slope FL's treading on, with this one. State-sanctioned violence will always hurt the vulnerable, first and hardest.

[bushisanidiot]

2. Crimes against women have less of a penalty than crimes against SUV's.

show's what the repukes think of women.. we can thank "Ann" Coulter, etc. for convincing freeptard females that they deserve to get smacked around or cheated on if they aren't perfect wives or girlfriends for their "men".

[liberal N proud]

3. Do you suppose that shot gun marriages have any effect on this?

There has to be an effect on domestic violence when two people are forced to get married because the woman got pregnant.

All these right wing pro life idiots pushing for abstention and refusing birth control. Are to blame for some this.
When a right to lifers daughter has pre-marital sex and gets caught, Not only does the family humiliate her, but they force her to marry some the guy (or any guy) regardless what the woman and or man feel.
Now the woman has been demoralized and the man feels trapped and feels the woman is responsible for his lot in life. So he is going to continue to humiliate here and eventually that will escalate into violence.

This is what the right wing Christian Fundamentalist don't get, they are forcing two people into a situation that is hostile to start with, now you have 3 people who suffer needlessly (wife, child and husband).

[Horse with no Name]

4. Exactly

and now pickles proclaiming how wonderful fatherhood is.
I fully expect this country to go to the Mormon teachings that a woman without a husband won't be allowed into the kingdom of Heaven.
Any man is good--even if he beats you. These people make me sick.

[Mandate My Ass]

11. murder is the #1 cause of death to pregnant females in USA

I've never once heard a "pro-lifer" screaming about that disturbing statistic.

[athenap]

5. Let's not forget the "sanctimoniousness of marriage amendments"

in Ohio, it's so strongly worded that no other state can be recognized as a substitute for granting parallel rights and privileges of marriage to a couple that a judge was able to take a case where a man was beating the crap out of his longtime live-in girlfriend and toss it out of being a domestic violence case because they weren't married, and domestic violence incidents only apply to marrried couples.

The shotgun wedding thing is a societal thing, and we wouldn't be able to change that with legislation. At least not right away. You can't change how people feel and believe with laws. All you can do with laws is set it up so that people don't have things like economic factors, or practicality issues (child care, etc) in the way of also having to bear a perceived societal stigma as well.

[UCLA Dem]

7. rape doesn't carry that high a sentence either...its a crime against women

so no one cares as much.

[MountainLaurel]

8. Even worse

Are molestation charges: In the eyes of the law, it's not really rape when the victim is your 10-year-old daughter.

I think much of this problem goes back to the ancient laws whereby a man's family was his property, to do with as he wanted.

[catzies]

10. And that's what they mean by a "return to traditional values"

The ancient laws you mention are the exact tradition they want to bring back. Those were THEIR "good old days."

[Megahurtz]

12. I agree.

This shit has been going on for ages. And the Repukes are fighting hard to "turn back the clock" on this one. Especially by cutting the funding to all of the Battered Women's Shelters.

[drdtroit]

13. This is all enabled by the GOP

the party of unaccountability.