In Kansas - Domestic Violence Offenders Are FREE TO GO.

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   Wesman Todd Shawposted 13 years ago

   http://www.newser.com/story/130781/tope … lence.html
   
   
   How much you wanna bet that they still lock up everyone they catch with a joint that they grew in their garden?

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      wildernessposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      Just more games by the politicians trying to squeeze more from the population.
      
      This one, though could backfire big time.  Let just one suspect return home and seriously harm their spouse and people will begin to question why we're prosecuting non-violent crimes (such as having a joint) instead of those domestic violence offenders.  Why we are spending money on secretaries for the politicians instead of upholding the law.
      
      This could actually wake a few people up and make them wonder just how we are prioritizing our govt. spending.  Do we want a new park or do we want to stop a murder?  Shall we pay for a Thanksgiving parade or put it towards keeping one beaten woman out of the hospital?
      
      One buys votes and one doesn't, but one could also ruin a political career if it goes the wrong way.

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         Wesman Todd Shawposted 13 years agoin reply to this

         It's totally wrong for me to hope for the outcome you've suggested - but at the same time it wouldn't be the least bit my fault should that be the outcome!

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            wildernessposted 13 years agoin reply to this

            That's just what I kept thinking as I wrote it, too.  An ugly, ugly thought but one impossible to ignore.

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               Wesman Todd Shawposted 13 years agoin reply to this

               I don't think we're talking about an "if it will happen" situation - but a "when it happens" situation - but then will the press cover it?
               
               We can NOT trust the media to report the truth anymore at all - if we ever could - it's not now.

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                  wildernessposted 13 years agoin reply to this

                  No the media won't report anything, or if it does it certainly won't report the whole story. 
                  
                  That's where it's nice to be here on HP - we have the knowledge and platform to get the news out.  It just takes a willingness to do so.

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                     Wesman Todd Shawposted 13 years agoin reply to this

                     RIGHT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
                     
                     Not just here - but on the whole internet!!!

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                        Hollie Thomasposted 13 years agoin reply to this

                        I often sound like an old feminist when I raise issues like these. When I worked in the community with female survivors of domestic abuse, there was a very sad statistic that we could not ignore. One in three women will experience abuse at the hands of a man, by the age of fourteen, FOURTEEN. The sadist statistic of them all, is that less than 50% will be reported and less than 50% of those will be charged, never mind convictions. But, it's good to see that the only people commenting on this dreadful situation so far are men. That demonstrates that times are a changing. It's disgusting, though. If we need to save money, then abusers walk free.

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                           wildernessposted 13 years agoin reply to this

                           They aren't changing in that aspect, Hollie - no man has ever condoned such activity.  Only overly large children.
                           
                           Things are changing though.  Women have more avenues of escape available and are becoming more willing to use them.  Society is coming to recognize that men can be abused just as women can although help in escaping such a situation is still hard to come by.
                           
                           It will never completely stop - there will always be sadists and control freaks - but we are cutting it back all the time.

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                              Hollie Thomasposted 13 years agoin reply to this

                              You're right Wilderness, men can and have been abused, too. Control freaks transcend both sexes, the positive is that both sexes recognize this. We have to keep talking about situations like this. As Wes quite rightly points out, the mainstream media do not talk about it.

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      MikeNVposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      Drugs are Bad M'Kay.
      
      Our Elected Officials are not working for the people... this is clear.

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   Wesman Todd Shawposted 13 years ago

   Women can be abusive too.  I've taken a fist to the eye and wondered what the hell was going on!
   
   Now that didn't turn out to be someone I stayed interested in, and I really did decide that if it happened again, that I'd return the punch.....but I've never had more than the one situation where there was a conversation, and then me having a black eye at the hands of a woman!
   
   
   I'm pretty easy going and I'm good at NOT getting into physical altercations with folks of either gender, but I'm certain that there's lots of men that get assaulted out of the blue, or from an argument - and don't report that either.

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   Hollie Thomasposted 13 years ago

   You're quite right Wes, women can be equally as abusive as men and I imagine that men are probably more reluctant then women to report. The statistics I was talking about, however, are general. Not just DV situations, but sexual assaults and rape.
   
   I imagine many women that lash out physically do so because they believe the victim will not strike back because it's a "women". That's often the nature of a bully though, isn't it? They chose their targets carefully.
   
   I'm also sure that sexual violence against boys takes place by female perps. But, until these things are brought out in the open and talked about, we'll never discover the extent of such abuse.

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   Emile Rposted 13 years ago

   At the risk of people thinking I'm heartless; I'd like to point out the obvious. I used to have to sit through the tail end of traffic court and then domestic violence cases, waiting to testify in the bad check cases for my business. For every person who is truly abused; there are twenty cases where a couple got into a scuffle, one got tiffy and called the law, only to refuse to testify against each other in court because they'd kissed and made up.
   
   Most domestic violence claims are bogus, and made repeatedly by the same individuals. Every time they cry wolf it costs the taxpayer money. Police have to respond, haul people in and process them. DA's take time, the lawyers (usually court appointed) take time; and all of that clogs up the courts for no reason other than that tempers flared.
   
   I realize there are people out there that are abused, but they are sometimes hard for the courts to see within all of the rabble.

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   Wesman Todd Shawposted 13 years ago

   We need "devil's advocates" in most any conversation.  I can't doubt what you're saying here because I do know of such persons as you've described.

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   Hollie Thomasposted 13 years ago

   I'd also like to the point out the obvious. I used to work with the perps and the victims; There are some women who cry wolf, but they are not the majority of women who make complaints. There are many women who make complaints but refuse to testify. This is not, in many cases, because they have kissed and made up, but because they want to get on with their lives and raise their children without having a court case hanging over them and have their entire lives come under scrutiny. They are also afraid.
   
   I once remember working with a women that had been raped, suffered physical and sexual abuse for a number of years. She dropped the charges against her X-partner, not because he was threatening her, he was in prison. But, because his mates were threatening her whilst he was in prison. They'd threatened her children and when she reported this to the police it was her word against theirs. She had no evidence, all the police could do, within their powers, was to advice her to contact them if an assault took place. it's not that cut and dried.

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      Emile Rposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      I agree. And I don't mean to belittle the suffering of those who are abused. It is simply that, as you said, nothing is cut and dried. I have a friend. The father of her son savagely abused her. Once. She left immediately. Moved out of state and had no further contact with him. The courts found her years later. Asked if she wanted to sue for back support. She discussed it with her son because it was a large sum of money. They decided there wasn't money enough to make it worth their while to let this man back into their lives.
      
      That would be me. You'd get only one shot at abuse. I'd have no further contact. I realize life isn't that easy for some, but saying I will never put up with such as that is, at least, an option many women understand.

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         Hollie Thomasposted 13 years agoin reply to this

         I agree, and I wouldn't put up with it either. I think in some respects this is the distinction. Level of education (it's definitely a factor), social support networks, and the means to remove oneself from a destructive(potentially fatal) situation. The reality is though that not all women have this background, level of support. or the financial means to "get out of there"
         
         Don't get me wrong, there are women's and DV groups that offer as much support as they are able. However, if you are unable to satisfy the Crown Prosecution  Service (I know it's a different process in the US) that you are at significant risk then it's highly unlikely that the case will be pursued. And, if you don't have the law on your side and you have children, you're kind of bound to that abusive partner forever, or at least, until they have decided to release you.

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   Hollie Thomasposted 13 years ago

   To shed some light on the matter. I accept of course, that this information relates only to UK victims.

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   Hollie Thomasposted 13 years ago

   http://www.publications.parliament.uk/p … /26312.htm

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   yellowstone8750posted 13 years ago

   Ah, Kansass [sic], you gotta love it.

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      Wesman Todd Shawposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      tornadoes, huge coyote population, and domestic violence - what's not to love? LOL!

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