Advocates Could Do a Better Job Collaborating Efforts
By ANNE MELFI
anneamaz108@cs.com

When there's a batterer in the home, the new laws that Georgia has passed in recent years are not enough to protect mothers and children, says Julie Koob, Director of the Commission on Family Violence. She works hard advocating for better legislation but, says Koob, "If prosecutors are not using the laws, it does victims no good. We must put our time into a coordinated community response."

A law on child endangerment is now in the works in Georgia that would allow for prosecution of parents who fail to protect their children. This could mean sending a battered mom to jail for not leaving, says Koob.

"The discussion is all about who really is the batterer," she says. "Advocates haven't collaborated as we should because the language doesn't appropriately place blame. A woman has been in jail for seven years because her boyfriend killed her child. Women get blamed but they're missing the support they need to provide for their children."

A nonprofit shelter in Duluth, Minnesota, has created a successful Coordinated Community Response, and Koob and her Commission are teaching and replicating similar ones in Georgia communities like Augusta and Douglasville.

"You do see a reduction in domestic homicides and incidents reported," says Koob. "It's happening really well in Duluth, San Diego and Massachusetts."

The Duluth shelter created a task force to better serve women and children at risk. Members of the task force started reviewing domestic homicides and found that the typical victim had gone to the police several times and either talked to a pastor, a hospital, or a doctor. In all these systems someone knew what was going on but took no action to help.

Task force members decided to screen for domestic violence and coordinate efforts between the hospital and law enforcement. If the task force called these systems multiple times on behalf of the victim, they would become more proactive and go to court for the victim, get a protective/restraining order, and see that the perpetrator is held accountable. The task force created a set of protocols for taking action.

Protocols that Georgia's Commission on Family Violence developed for Augusta and Douglasville are available on the Commission's Web site at www.gasafesite.org.

"Communities are invited to adopt these protocols and adjust them, as needed," says Koob. "They can get help from us in training task forces."

Task force members try to close the gaps and provide as many opportunities for safety as possible. A typical task force would include representatives from existing systems - like a PTA and a psychological association - working together to prevent the deaths of women and children.

"The partners that really have to be at the table are prosecutors, child protection services, law enforcement, the faith-based community, and the shelter advocate community," says Koob.

"In some pockets of this state," says Koob, "we have missed opportunities to arrest the batterer on the scene. In other communities we have prosecutors who do not prosecute to the full extent of the law. In others we have judges who don't."

Why doesn't the victim just leave? Consider that 75 percent of medical emergencies from domestic violence happen when the victim has tried to leave, says Koob.

Koob invites victims to call 1-800-33-HAVEN for help. The number links callers to the shelter closest to them. All certified shelters in Georgia have 24-hour crisis lines, support group services, and referrals to resources and help.

For more information on the Georgia Commission on Family Violence, call (404) 657-3412.