Voice of the Mid-Columbia | Kennewick, Pasco and Richland, Wash. |
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closeIf money talks, then this month, let it talk about domestic violence.
Domestic violence is America's most common - but least reported - crime. It takes a toll on not only the victims but also on our community at large. In fact, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention put a price on that toll by estimating the cost of intimate partner violence exceeds $8.3 billion each year!
This factors in the cost of emergency medial care, mental health care, including treatment for offenders and counseling for victims, as well as the cost of victim and social services. However, it is likely highly underestimated as it does not include the cost of law enforcement and other first responders; criminal and civil court systems - including judges, prosecutors, court personnel, public and private defenders; or the cost of probation, incarceration, and the jury's time and lost wages.
Domestic violence impacts American businesses to the tune of $727.8 million annually due to lost productivity, with over 7.9 million paid workdays lost each year. There is the cost of worker retraining when a victim flees or is killed, or an abuser incarcerated. Not only do victims need to take time off from work due to injuries, health and stress-related illnesses, to seek a protection order, relocate or go to court, but abusers experience interruptions in their work schedule due to their arrest, as well as their own abusive behaviors - studies have shown that workplace resources spent are often used by abusers to harass and stalk their partners.
Direct medical and mental health care services for victims costs us$4.1 billion, much of which are costs absorbed by employers. Even the Department of Defense calculated the cost of domestic violence to the military to be approximately $273 million annually for needed intervention, retention and replacement, transitional compensation, and in diminished readiness for military service.
This financial burden is invisibly absorbed by society as a whole, but it still is the victims and their children who pay the highest cost, the intangible expense: the fear, the pain and suffering and the long-term consequences of victimization - depression, anxiety, stress-related illnesses and sleeping problems. This toll weighs upon not only victims still trapped in violence relationships but even those who have left.
The reality is that leaving opens up a whole new realm of issues for victims to deal with - custody issues, child care challenges, financial difficulties and scarcity of affordable housing. In fact, domestic violence is the primary cause of homelessness among women and has a tremendous impact on the ability of a victim to get and maintain jobs that allow them financial independence from their abusers. Perhaps the most daunting risk of leaving is that women are more likely to be killed or seriously injured by their partner following separation - not while staying in the relationship!
Thankfully, some things are improving for victims. More housing assistance is available, the criminal legal system is working harder to holdperpetrators accountable, additionalservices are offered by DVS and other local community agencies, collaboration among providers is improving responses and services to victims, and community support for victims is increasing andhelping change lives. At the same time, funding to support these essential services is being cut despite the fact the demands for services are going up.
We cannot rely on any one system or agency to end domestic violence. It's a community problem we can only solve together. You can play a part in reducing the impact of domestic violence in our community by taking an active stance against domestic violence! Hang an informational poster at your work, adopt a family for Christmas, talk to a teen about dating violence, or attend community events - such as the candlelight vigil at 6:15 p.m. Oct. 29 at John Dam Plaza in Richland.
We all pay the price for domestic violence in our community. And we all have a responsibility for being part of the solution.
* Erinn Gailey is program director for Domestic Violence Services of Benton & Franklin Counties, 3311 W. Clearwater Ave., Suite C-140, Kennewick.
Editorials are the consensus of the Tri-City Herald editorial board.
Editorial board members are Rufus Friday, publisher; Chris Sivula, editorial page editor; Ken Robertson, executive editor; Matt Taylor, contributing editor; Lori Lancaster, editorial writer; Shelly Norman, editorial writer and Jack Briggs, retired publisher
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