In The News

Daily Hampshire Gazette
Thursday, December 06, 2007

As deaths rise, state works to defuse domestic violence

By James F. Lowe Staff Writer

It's shaping up to be a record year for domestic violence in Massachusetts, with the number of deaths related to the phenomenon at the highest they've been since 1992. These statistics, compiled by a private group, come just as a newly formed panel is gearing up to revamp the state's domestic violence prevention tools.

According to Jane Doe Inc., the Massachusetts Coalition Against Sexual Assault and Domestic Violence, 38 people have been killed this year by someone with whom they'd had an intimate relationship, whether a spouse, significant other or parent.

Additionally, 12 people, all men, have killed themselves after killing or attempting to kill their partners or children.

A number of the deaths occurred in western Massachusetts, though so far none has taken place in Hampshire or Franklin counties.

Toni Troop, a spokeswoman for Jane Doe Inc., said the agency predicts the total number of deaths will reach 57 before the year is out. The projection is based on monthly domestic violence homicide and suicide rates. Troop said Jane Doe has been making its predictions for several years.

"Sadly, our projections are turning out to be true," she said.

Tuesday in Holyoke, at a meeting of the newly formed Governor's Council to Address Sexual and Domestic Violence, Lt. Gov. Timothy Murray decried the unsettling numbers.

"We are very concerned about domestic violence and the recent increase in deaths related to such violence," Murray said in a prepared statement.

Marianne Winters, a member of the domestic violence council and director of the Everywoman's Center at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst, said the panel will present preliminary recommendations by March.

"I think a big part of the council's work will be reporting to the governor where are the funding gaps and where would resources best be used," Winters said.

Key, Winters said, is collaboration among all of the people who deal with domestic abuse, from police and prosecutors to social service workers and beyond. That sense of collaboration is already well-developed in Hampshire County, Winters said.

A task force made up of law enforcement officials and representatives from programs for domestic abuse survivors and batterers has been working on prevention issues for about 10 years, said Assistant Northwestern District Attorney Susan Loehn.

"There's a lot of people at the table," said La Wanza Lett-Brewington, executive director of one of the participating agencies, Safe Passage. "It's a good foundation for us, which makes us different from a lot of other counties."

Two programs overseen by the district attorney's office, the Domestic Violence Intervention Project and Abused Women's Active Response Emergency, help victims of domestic abuse navigate the court system, find resources and feel safer with the help of special alarm systems. Counselors are also available in court to work with alleged batterers, Loehn said.

Looking ahead, Loehn said her office will seek grant funding to form a "crisis team" that would identify "high-risk" cases and, hopefully, prevent repeated episodes of domestic violence.

Important to preventing domestic violence is increasing community outreach efforts, said Safe Passage's Lett-Brewington. This winter, she said, Safe Passage will roll out a new program aimed at training employers to recognize signs of domestic violence and help workers who may be suffering from it.

In another outreach effort sponsored by Jane Doe Inc., people around the state will be invited Feb. 14 to take part in an event meant to raise awareness about domestic violence among young people.

Participants are asked to wear a white ribbon and make this pledge: "From this day forward, I promise never to commit, condone or remain silent about violence against women, sexual assault and domestic violence."

White Ribbon Day events will be held at Amherst Regional High School, Frontier Regional High School in South Deerfield, Mahar Regional High School in Orange and Ware High School, Loehn said.

"When more people recognize that stopping domestic violence is everybody's responsibility, that will be the beginning of the ending of domestic violence," Lett-Brewington said.

James F. Lowe can be reached at jlowe@gazettenet.com.