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National Institute of Justice Unit(;d States Department of Justice Washington, D. C. 2u531 '. ! 11/16/83\ • __. ___ 111"....... r o t I ~,~ )" ~I ~ '"iI I " o ! J II (j, a D report n ' a on "", " '~f Spousal Violence G " ~ Against Women (\ ~ • t, In Kentucky '6 ': c q "': " a .« ••/ 0 0' by '!t " Louise Howell . \") .. ' ," u () IJ(I~~,1f1twl!l' (,1 i!!'.twp o 1 ~a t',J\)t!nfld In .!/!f,'( (1' ,iU~,'1i t' o· \J '" II, 'Q 'I" i' f 0' , , : /.. o· . - " " " ", f-, '. , Kentucky Commission on ~( .. ,-'" , . " *' ." . ., .~ . i , . ---,.,~... -.. ------,----- -".. -.-... ~~J --.----~-~-------.--,. -- - 1r ,1 I .. INTRODUCTION ", f\ \ i TABLE OF CONTENTS I walked into the kitchen, and 1 put my baby in the high chair. I walked back in and lie said something to me. My back was turned. tllat's when 11e came in and just whapped me from behind. It just kind of dazed me a little bit becawse I wasn't expecting it at the time. He Mt me on tlte haad, 1 and then he grabbed me by the hair and threw me up against the wall . ...1 remamber I ran 1. Introduction ............................................... \ upstairs and he came up . ...J know my son cm,;" upstairs while we were arguing. WhenlIa walk­ ed in, my husband had just struck me across the face . .. He started hitting me Wit/I flu] talepllone receiver . .. .My son was trying to stop him and he thew him off and got him out of the way. 3 Then I was concerned about my son getting 1IUrt too, and I was screaming telling Ilim to get out of ........................... 11,I 11. The Battered Woman and the Family tile way . ... Then 1 started to go into the bathroom; he came in there too. But outside of the 1 bathroom, that's when he started IlUrting me the worst. Because he started to kick at me, and he 1 had Ilard shoes on . .. He punched me in the stomach which really knocked tile wind out of rna. It 13 i gave me a very ill feeling . .. .1 tried to get out of the way and then he kind of threw me off the •••••••••••• '9 •••••••••••••••••••••• I Why Do Women Remain 7 bed. J landed on a drawer and I got my foot cut, but after J got up, then Ite kicked me rigJzt in tile III. \ I stomach . ... Well, tllat kind of made me fall to the floor. It made me feel like I was going to I vomit. .. .J started to go out tile door again and he pushed me up against the edge of tlte door. J thought my spine would break witlt his weight pushing up against me . ...J felt like my back was . ................... 19 1 IV. Women's Stortes ..... ··················· 1 going to crack . .• . He let go, and Ite tllrew me down the hall and 1 landed up against-the side of I my Ilead hit tile wall and then he threw this thing at me. Tlten it got bad becau.se he came down and jumped 011 me, and I tlmugllt for sure that I was going to die right then. 1 thought, "this is it. " J \ . ........ 49 J thougllt Ite was going to stab me to death. I just laid tllere, til ere was nothing I could do. So that's V. Law Enforcement A. ~gencles ......................... what I did. He just kicked me a few times. He was on top of me standing on me, and J can I remember my son pulling his arm . .. .I can remember I couldn't breathe cause he was standing on me and I couldn't get any air at tllat point. Sometimes 1 don't know what would have Ilappened if Where Do Women Go For Help? ............................. 63 , I my SOl1 wasn't there anyway. Because I tllink my son kind of brought him back to who he was or VI. what he was doing • ... Tllen he got off me and started running down the steps. J don't know how I II tllis happenad, but J sal' up and my son came ovar bellind me and he was asking me, "Are you ! alright Mama, are you alrigllt?" I turned around and saw about six flights of stairs and 1 passed I out . ; ..... 73 .............. , ............. , ..... VII. Conclusion The next momt'ng I woke up and 1 realt'zed just how Ilurt J really was. 1 sometimes think that • t ,1 I maybe 1 sllould have weni to the emergency room, but being a nurse myself 1 know what that's NC)RS like and 1 didn't want to subject myself to being examined . ...J had wanted Dr. to r clleck me over and he wouldn't . ... That's my fatlter-in-Iaw. He is a doctor . .. He never did t come . .. .I don't know wily he didn't come-·maybe it's because 11~ didn"t want to face wllat his son &lid. My attorneys didn't want me to file at/y charges because my husband is pretty well known in I1 , ACGlUISITIONS I that community and they didn't want any of that stuff out because tJley were afraid if J did that he I might get angry at me and do worse . .. Everybody was worried about what 1 was going to do '! 1 about Ilis reputation. These were our friends 1 thought. One of 11is attorneys called and said, "Don't file charges wllataver you do. If you do, that will ruin his practice and you don't want to do that . •.. " My husband told me, "Who's going to believe you anyway? I know the judges. Tiley are going to believe me, the up-stal1dt'ng citiZen. Who's going to believe you?" . .. He would never hit me t'n the face with his fist. He always said the reason was that way nobody can tell. Mostly tile trunk of tile body and back-only onCf!, he punched me in the mouth. That's all. And when he did it, Ile couldn't balieve it because lIe dt'dn't want anybody to know. (Editor's Note: Passages of interviews contained in. th!s report,have been edited only in terms of deletion for the sake of conciseness. Quoted materIal IS verbattm.) The events described by this woman, though shocking and disturbing, are true. The situation described is not uncommon in the State of Kentucky; in fact, the assault committed on this woman by her husband is an experience common to many wives. Wife beating is a crime of extraordinary I prevalence and intensity. The effects are devastating physically, psychologically, and socially for ! the woman, her children, and the batterer himself. -1- )I ~f I The purpose of this report is to examine peopl(>'s opinions and beliefs about the phenomenon of wife beating in Kentucky and to determine how these events are treated by agencies, in both the public and private sector. Information was gathered from approximately eighty interviews with in­ dividuals from all parts of Kentucky who have, or have had, direct involvement with spouse abuse. Included were professionals in the legal system, the helping systems, concerned citizens, and victims themselves. Most of the commentary is anonymous. A general assessment of opinions and beliefs wa:' the purpose of the report and anonymity seemed to allow some people more freedom of expres­ sion. Spouse abuse is a term used not only in reference to violence within the family unit and toward a spouse, but refers also to violence within intimate relationships that exist without the legal status of marriage. The first section of the report is a discussion of abused women with histories as told by the women themselves. Even though cmonymous, these women displayed much courage in talking directly to a THE stranger, and were frank about their painful experiences. The impact of violence on the children in the family is also discussed. What young people witness or engage in during bouts of violence between their parents frequently has a severely detrimental effect on their social development and BATTERED future relationships. A dim profile of the battering male is included, sketched largely ft'om the descriptions offered by the abused spouse and professionals in the area of behavioral psychology. Even with the historical evidence indicating long precedence for the abuse of women, the answer to WOMAN why, in specific situations, men beat their wives is still hypothetical, other than as a sociologist noted, that the fact is there is no one there to stop them. Finally, attention is given to the question, why do women tolerate the abuse, as this was a constant issue in each interview. The reality of the choices women have is addressed and the process of victimization is considered, offering some in­ AND sight into why a woman may "choose" to stay married to an abusive man.