In the News

Domestic violence rates spike

By Michelle Laczkoski
The MetroWest Daily News
June 07, 2008

An alarming recent spike in domestic violence could be triggered by several factors, and state leaders are determined to identify them.
"Victims need to hear from the highest voices in the state that we understand," said Mary Lauby, director of Jane Doe Inc., the statewide advocacy group for victims of domestic violence.
Lauby is among many people grateful for Gov. Deval Patrick's declaration of a public health advisory on domestic violence last week. Following a peaceful May, where not one person was killed from domestic violence, three people died within the first few days of June, the result of a murder-suicide in Upton and homicide in Holyoke.
Locals are still reeling in the small, quiet town of Upton, where 37-year-old Dawn Armstrong was fatally stabbed in her home before her boyfriend, Thomas Lizotte, 42, turned the knife on himself.
In wake of the murder-suicide and the killing of Iris Padilla in Holyoke last week, Gov. Deval Patrick directed the state Department of Public Health to issue a public health advisory on domestic violence.
"We have a public health emergency on our hands," Patrick said at a press conference Thursday. "This weighs heavily on the administration and the Commonwealth. This is something that affects us all."
The number of domestic violence incidents rose 300 percent in the past three years, according to data compiled by Jane Doe Inc.
Nineteen people were killed in Massachusetts this year as a result of domestic violence. Last year, 42 people were murdered from domestic violence, up nearly 50 percent from 2006 and nearly triple the 15 murders in 2005.
June has been a disheartening month so far, said Toni Troop, public relations director of Jane Doe Inc., who estimates this year's statistics will match the 42 murders in 2007.
"There was not one homicide in May," said Troop. "Sadly it's all too rare to go a month without a homicide."
Armstrong's death marks the first murder this month. Her body was found with Lizotte's in her Elm Street home Monday morning after worried co-workers told police she didn't report to work. On Wednesday, Holyoke police found Padilla's body in her Cabot St. apartment, making her the second homicide victim in the state last week.
"The trend is moving in the wrong direction," said Lt. Gov. Tim Murray, adding the administrations' goal to better understand patterns in domestic violence.
The increase of domestic violence is prompting leaders statewide to band together in hopes of quelling the rising incidents and identifying patterns of brutality.
Patrick and Murray's efforts to elevate awareness and combat domestic violence were missing from past administrations, Lauby said.
Tight funding for services to assist victims and outsides stresses, such as the declining economy, may be to blame for those lashing out in violence.
"It's not socioeconomic or culturally more prevalent in certain areas," said Lauby.
Patrick acknowledged the state's "lack of coordination" in providing services for victims.
He said "economic anxiety" may be to blame for the rise in violence in the state.
Lauby said the infrastructure and support of counseling services fell apart.
"It's our obligation to undo that," she said. "We can turn this around."
Mary Gianakis, director of Framingham-based Voices Against Violence, which provides assistance to MetroWest victims, said blaming domestic violence on stress is a common myth.
"Everybody faces a variety of stress during the day, most people manage to cope in appropriate ways," she said. "To blame domestic violence homicide on external stressors is inaccurate."
Milford Police Chief Thomas O'Loughlin said it's important to recognize underlying symptoms in domestic abuse.
"You have to figure out what's going on here," he said. "It will give the victim a clear understanding of what confronts them in the future."
Gianakis said certain factors are connected to domestic violence homicides, including financial hardships and substance abuse.
Unsteady relationships also play a role in domestic violence cases. A breakup often prompts brutal attacks, Gianakis added.
"When someone's only goal is to control someone else, and the victim tries to leave, it's the ultimate loss of control," she said.
Police said Armstrong and Lizotte were in an on-and-off relationship. Although their status remains unclear, Armstrong's boss, Tom McIntyre said the two broke up recently.
"She was done with him... he wanted to get back together," he said.
According to national statistics, 73 percent of all murder-suicides involved an intimate partner. Of these, 94 percent were females killed by their intimate partners.
The Violence Policy Center study also found most murder-suicides occurred in the home.
Lizotte's sister, Tina Gagnon, said her brother and Armstrong were dating for about two years.
"I know they loved each other a lot," Gagnon said. "They had been going through some tough times outside their relationship. It put a lot of stress on the two of them."
Lauby said several other environmental factors contribute to domestic violence, including what she called the "current anti-immigrant population."
"It's more difficult for those in immigrant families to come forward," she said. "They are afraid to reach out to law enforcement ... anti-immigration is literally killing people."
O'Loughlin raised similar concerns in immigrant victims reporting abuse.
He said language barriers and fear of deportation have prevented many Brazilian and Ecuadorean immigrants in Milford from telling police about domestic violence.
By using victim advocates, O'Loughlin said the department can easily work with victims and apply crisis centers' resources.
Framingham Police Lt. Paul Shastany said improving work on a local level is vital in deflating domestic violence incidents.
"Our best efforts in the past may not have been good enough," he said. "We are looking to improve responses to keep cycles from reoccurring."
Patrick's plan also involves strengthening police officers' training around domestic violence. Such skills are hoped to enhance the law enforcement response of such crimes.
Troop said research proves domestic violence is "predictable, and thus preventable."
"Everyone has a role to play, everyone can make a difference," she said.
"Working together we can make a stand and stop a tragedy before it happens," Patrick said.
Domestic violence resources include:
* The statewide domestic violence SafeLink hotline can be reached at 877-785-2020.
* Voices Against Violence can be reached at 800-593-1125.
* Department of Public Health Batterer Intervention Program Services also offers assistance at 617-624-5497.