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Winslow Police Department’s Citizen’s Liaison Committee (CLC) held its second community forum last week with the topic of discussion the prevalence of domestic violence in Winslow and the impact it has on the community.
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Members of the panel spoke on the aspects of domestic violence. Theresa Warren, the executive director of Alice’s Place explained, “Usually, when we think of domestic violence, we think of someone getting hit in an intimate partner situation. That is just one kind of domestic violence. Not only that but anyone who is in the home, whether it be a parent, or sibling, or whomever, can be a perpetrator or a victim of domestic violence. It isn’t always a spouse or a boyfriend, girlfriend.”
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Gina McCauley, case manager at Alice’s Place and Tiffany Brooks, program manager at Alice’s Place added to Warren’s statement by offering a presentation outlining some warning signs and resources for those who suspect that they or someone they know are being victimized by a domestic partner.
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McCauley explained, “Threatening to hurt you or your kids or even your pets is domestic violence. Abusers will escalate from verbal abuse to physical abuse a lot of the time. If your partner is intimidating you by breaking things or putting you down, that too is domestic violence. The thing about abusers is they don’t take ownership of their behavior. It will always be someone else’s fault that they act in the ways that they do. They are able to be charming and collected when law enforcement shows up, making the victim seem like they are crazy. These are all very significant signs of abuse. And again, it is not always hitting or shoving.”
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Warren added, “Isolation is a huge red flag. If you have someone that you have known for a long time and suddenly they aren’t showing up to family functions or they are quitting their job, not going out with their friends like they used to; they could be in a domestic violence situation. We see patterns of courtship where things are good with a new relationship, they are being swept off their feet and then slowly being isolated from their friends and family.”
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Brooks outlined the core services offered at Alice’s Place. In addition to the 24- hour hotline, the center also offers crisis intervention, emergency shelter, transportation, legal advocacy and resource information and referrals. “We are also a source of emotional support and safety planning for victims, as well as being able to offer prevention and awareness education.”
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Navajo County Sheriff David Clouse stated, “A lot of times people think that domestic violence is only a physical altercation. It is actually a pattern of behavior that has the victim feeling like they can’t get out. We know that if there is a law broken we must take action; that is our job. Often times it is just a misdemeanor and we’ll be right back in the home weeks, months or hours later. That is where we, as law enforcement rely on victim’s services. We call those resources and work closely with them. Hopefully then, the victims get counseling and resources to get out of the cycle.”
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Winslow Police Chief Dan Brown added, “I think for us, the most important thing is that we train our folks. Don’t dismiss who the offender or victim is. We have to believe what the victim is saying right off the bat and take each incident specifically. After we respond to a call, we have to do our job of getting to the heart of the issue.”
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Warren continued, “Every case is different, but there are similarities. Domestic violence is based on control. It is not an anger issue, it is about the need for control. That is why the first 72 hours after leaving a domestic violence relationship is the most dangerous because the control is lost. There is a statistic out there that says on average, a victim will leave the relationship seven times before they decide to leave for good. We don’t have a cookie cutter approach to dealing with victims.”
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There are many effects of domestic violence. Beth Carlson, behavioral health therapist at Change Point Integrated Health said, “A sad thing that I see is that domestic violence victims don’t come forward. They think that for some reason, it’s their fault and it’s not their fault. We have to let them know that it’s not and that they don’t need to feel guilty for coming forward.”
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Outreach in the community is vital to helping victims of domestic violence. “We see an increase in our calls every year. I don’t think domestic violence is on the rise, it could be but I do know that the number of people who report it is on the rise,” said Warren. “That is in large part due to the outreach that we have been doing. We have begun getting into the schools, the high school and junior high, to talk about teen dating violence and the elementary schools as well. We recently began a program at Jefferson elementary that works with kids and helps to identify issues that may be going on in the home that we can help with. We are very focused on outreach and early prevention of domestic violence cycles.”
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There are services available to victims of domestic violence that are more than just shelters. Alice’s Place helps with life skills and applying for various benefits. Other entities also offer support to victims. Carlson said, “We have a victim’s group and an offenders’ group. The offenders often times don’t think that they’ve done anything wrong. They don’t take ownership of that behavior. It is our goal to help guide both parties on to a better path.”
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Polly Hewlett, case manager at Arizona Child and Adolescent Initiative, a group that works with children who have lost parents to domestic violence, added, “Sometimes perpetrators of domestic violence have no prior (domestic violence) calls, or reports. Sometimes they are pillars of the community. But if you dig a little deeper, often there are some signs that there is potential for abuse there. Sometimes, the violence has happened and just has not been reported.”
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Also on the panel is Roxanne Padilla, Victim’s Services Director of Navajo County.
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To find more information on domestic violence and the services offered to victims, contact Alice’s Place in Winslow at (928) 289-3003, the Family Advocacy Center in Holbrook at (928) 524-4017 or any law enforcement office within Navajo County.
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