Danceswithwordsdomestic assault and the state.
November 20th 2006 05:52
According to federal law in australia, an intervention order is a verdict reached by the magistrates court that expressly forbids a certain individual to make contact with another (or one that at least allows only certain forms of exchange) on the grounds of physical/emotional abuse or severe negligence. The magistrate reaches this decision after evaluating the relevant precedence and then the local police either enforce the separation or monitor the permissible contact. The most common precipitating circumstance that leads to an intervention order is one of either domestic assault or sexual abuse. When children under the age of 16 are involved in cases of abuse at home or at school, the state run human services department is able to intercede directly and remove the child from the unsafe environment. But on the other hand, when an adult is involved in a case of domestic violence or sexual abuse, an intervention order requires consent from the victim in order to be enforced. In other words, this means that unless the one suffering from the brutal environment requests an intervention order, except in situations where a life is directly at risk, the police are powerless to separate the victim from an abusive circumstance. This has grievous implications when one considers how often a victim of abuse will keep silent about their horrendous, oppressive situation.
There are a myriad of reasons why people stay with people who abuse them. I do not presume to know them all. Some stay because of love, some because of fear, some because of adopted cognitive distortion (basically where the victim adopts the mindset of the perpetrator and deems the abuse justified), some because they are acclimatized to the atrocious environment they dwell in. my question is, should all negative freedoms (the freedom from something, eg- direct state intervention in our lives) be allowed? Should the police in conjunction with human services be able to directly intercede in certain instances despite the lack of permission and/or consent? Where do we draw the line between allowing individual freedoms and assuming social responsibility? Should we as a society allow people to make a choice that will inevitably hurt them? And is it worth the potential consequences to enable government to choose what might be best for us?
There are a myriad of reasons why people stay with people who abuse them. I do not presume to know them all. Some stay because of love, some because of fear, some because of adopted cognitive distortion (basically where the victim adopts the mindset of the perpetrator and deems the abuse justified), some because they are acclimatized to the atrocious environment they dwell in. my question is, should all negative freedoms (the freedom from something, eg- direct state intervention in our lives) be allowed? Should the police in conjunction with human services be able to directly intercede in certain instances despite the lack of permission and/or consent? Where do we draw the line between allowing individual freedoms and assuming social responsibility? Should we as a society allow people to make a choice that will inevitably hurt them? And is it worth the potential consequences to enable government to choose what might be best for us?
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Comment by tek
It is not easy escaping the clutches of an abuser, mentally you feel useless and weak and for most women as I found with my family it was hard to get away due to economically reasons. We would move away only to be found, be placed in women shelters where the conditions were far from hygienic and have to often face embarrassment of having to ask places like the Salvation Army for money for food and basic necessities. And thus we felt forced to continue coming back to these abusive environment believing we truly are better off here then else where.
It’s ironic that this blog be posted today because, my mother was sent a pamphlet from her psychologist about abuse called, Nothing Wrong. It explains what abuse is and how to confront it. It warns that it may never be physically or emotionally safe to confront abusers, and most will never admit what happen let alone apologize. And that any act of revenge or violence has unpredictable results. More suffering, such as arrest, intervention orders may only bind abused to abuser. It advocates abused individuals and there friends and family to seek advice from lawyers, child protection workers, women’s health worker or a worker from centers against sexual assault or rape crisis centers. Although the there is a great deal of effort put out in order to help and the government needs to show greater authority that these actions against children, women and men are unexcitable and there needs to be harsher punishments for abusers and a great deal more support for abuse victims whether it be emotionally, financially or what have you. People have to know they have something to fall back on and know that the way they are being treated is unacceptable and is not normal and the abuser is not doing it to you because they love you. I know it’s not an easy problem to fix and most women, children; men will not leave these situations not just because of fear, love or economically situations but mostly because of adopted cognitive distortion. I once knew a women who was in abusive relationship and friends would urge her, plead with her to leave and she would refuses saying “he is only like this once in a blue moon, you not know how he teats me the rest of the time; with love and respect, I know he doesn’t mean it he needs me to help him and I will because love him and him me.” And you think to yourself how you are going to help someone who doesn’t want to be helped, who thinks they don’t need to be helped. I could only think of one way, force. To force the couple into some sort of counseling or the abuser faces prison. But that idea has many flaws and might generate a whole new cycle of abuse. But what are generally needed are support, understanding and awareness.
Comment by ChrisM
be safe.
Comment by MelissaA
Fun Facts
In most cases, trying to change the system is like banging your head repeatedly against a brick wall, but at the same time we can't give in, so we are forever caught between the proverbial 'rock & hard place'.