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Editorial: Domestic violence victims need support

Sun., Sept. 21, 2014

If not for the video of running back Ray Rice punching his fiancée, the National Football League would have moved on. Most of us already had.

In fact, this editorial wouldn’t have been written.

But the visual evidence galvanized the nation. It wasn’t the first incidence of domestic violence involving an NFL player. It wasn’t even the most violent.

Two years ago, Jovan Belcher of the Kansas City Chiefs murdered his girlfriend and committed suicide, leaving behind a 3-month-old baby. But there was no video of the nine bullets pumped into Kasandra Perkins. No video of Belcher shooting himself.

The day after this tragedy, the Chiefs played a home game. The public address announcer didn’t mention the incident, except to call for a moment of silence. The Chiefs vanquished their foe, and the issue of domestic violence receded.

On Friday, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell announced that the league intends to stop fumbling this issue. In football parlance, his back was against the wall. Nevertheless, the league has a loud megaphone, so it has the opportunity to do a lot of good.

Sports fans are moved by statistics, so here are some related to domestic violence, courtesy of the Washington State Coalition Against Domestic Violence website: From 1997 to 2013, 710 people died in domestic violence-related incidents in the state, 46 of them in Spokane County.

The National Network to End Domestic Violence conducted a one-day survey of domestic violence program providers Sept. 17, 2013. On that day, 1,649 respondents from across the country reported serving 66,581 people. More than half of the domestic violence victims and their children found safety in shelters and other temporary housing. A total of 9,641 requests for services were not met. The biggest hole in the safety net is affordable housing.

Behind the numbers are fear, hopelessness and shattered lives. To make matters worse, some people feel compelled to blame the victims: “If only they would leave.”

That’s more difficult than it sounds. Victims face substantial economic barriers. Many have children to feed, clothe and house, often with the only breadwinner being the abuser. Rather than blame the victim, we need to establish a stronger support network to make it easier to leave.

For now, a good place for victims to start is the YWCA. Regina Malveaux, the director of the Spokane chapter, is a passionate advocate for domestic violence victims. The YWCA has an Alternatives to Domestic Violence Program and safe shelter. A shelter recently opened in Spokane Valley, too. The Y also has services to help women enter or re-enter the workforce.

The issue of domestic violence is no longer on the sidelines, so let’s shift the focus from the athletes to the victims. We can all do our part to carry the banner and restore hope.