Did you know?

A general working definition of domestic abuse
This definition is taken in July 2013 from a web article provided by The Wellspring Alliance.
Domestic abuse is a pattern of coercive, controlling behavior that escalates in severity and danger over time. Domestic abuse can include physical, emotional, psychological, sexual, or financial abuse. It can include abuse directed at the woman’s children, the family pets, or the woman’s extended family.
This is just a general idea of what most folks mean by domestic abuse. This is not the the legal definition. In fact, there is no legal definition. That’s one of the frustrating things about this area of the law. The legal definition changes depending on which legal statute you are working with. Each criminal and protective order statute may have a slightly different definition.
Not all domestic abuse is hitting. Some of it is subtle, and can be done right in front of you. Unless you know what to look for, you will miss it. Some kinds of non-violent abuse are listed below. Not all are arrestable offenses, though some are. These behaviors make domestic violence the complex, hard to recognize and hard to stop problem that it is.
* Threatening the victim, other family members or pets. Threats can be made clear to the victim with veiled comments, or looks or gestures in your presence.
* Requiring victim to do sexual things against their will.
* Preventing a spouse or partner from getting a job or having access to money.
* Controlling who a spouse or partner sees, talks to, or visits; threatening to take away the children.
Children are particularly vulnerable to domestic abuse, as victims and as witnesses. Children exposed to domestic abuse are more likely to attempt suicide, abuse drugs, and run away from home. Men exposed to domestic abuse as children are twice as likely to abuse their own wives and children when they become adults.
Understanding domestic abuse battery
All police officers will encounter domestic abuse (commonly called domestic violence or DV) throughout their career. Domestic abuse in areas of Louisiana occurs at three times the national average. To deal effectively with domestic abuse cases, officers must understand the emotions that drive it.
Domestic abuse is unlike other crimes. It may seem annoying or trivial at times, but the damage to our communities is devastating, and it tends to repeat through generations. Children who see this later do this.
Domestic abuse is deadly to its victims, and it is often deadly to responding officers. If law-enforcement officers don’t understand it, they will miss things that could save their lives, your life, or the lives of others.
St. Landry Parish Sheriff Bobby J. Guidroz said, “Domestic abuse affects rich and poor, any race, religion or educational level. While officers work a call in the worst neighborhood in your parish or city, there is probably an equally bad situation at one of the wealthiest homes in your area. You are just less likely to find out about the violence in wealthy homes because of the shame involved. One in four women will be a victim of domestic violence at some point in her life.”
“Men can be victims of domestic abuse too; so can couples in same-sex relationships. However, the vast majority of domestic abuse is perpetrated by men against women”, Guidroz added.
Next Monday’s ‘Did You Know’ will answer the question, “Why doesn’t he/she just leave?”