Spousal abuse a serious problem

Never have I seen a case so polarizing here as that of Mary Winkler. People on both sides are rabid about their convictions of whether it was poor little abused Mary taking up for herself and her children, or whether it was cold-blooded, shoot-a-sleeping-man-in-the-back Mary. To speak her very name the past few weeks was to invite a near fistfight if you were within ear shot of someone who thought a different way.

However, amid all the talk, I believe there has been an important issue raised which many of us can agree upon, that being what appears to be a widespread epidemic of spousal abuse. For months I?ve been stunned how many women, sight unseen, have said they?d acquit Mary Winkler without hearing one shred of evidence. Each time they?d go into a rant about being abused or knowing someone who was ?beaten black and blue? by their boyfriend or husband.

While I dismissed these folks as angry women who hated men and were living vicariously through Mary Winkler, the more I heard during the case, the more it?s become apparent we need to do something more to stem what appears to be a national epidemic. Just like child molesters, spousal abusers work in the shadows, using threats and violence to ensure the silence of their victims. And just like child molesters, most wife beaters get away with it.

Why? Because we, as a society, still believe that what happens in the family home, should stay in the family home. For a long time we didn?t want to admit the number of step-fathers who were messing with their 11-year-old stepdaughters or uncles who were being a bit too friendly with their nephews. The same is true with spousal abuse. We figure if we ignore it long enough it?ll go away.

We see it all the time in court. You have man arrested for assaulting his girlfriend or wife but then the very same woman will take the stand and claim she was lying about the whole thing and the man is as pure as the driven snow. I?ve even seen women go to jail for their abusive man, taking the blame for a false report rather than putting him in jail.

What do we do? Well, seeing that domestic assaults account for the lion?s share of reported violent crime every year, and that?s the small part of them that actually get reported, I think it bears an entire special domestic intervention unit within law enforcement. Many larger cities have begun such units to investigate, document and prosecute instances of domestic violence, taking such cases to a conclusion instead of letting them go due to the lack of willingness of an abused woman to testify. These units also prosecute women who lie on their husbands, using the threat of a false warrant to mentally abuse a man as also happens around here quite often.

Seeing that spousal abuse is as common as drug abuse, which has a special unit and fund, and dominates a good part of the court docket every Tuesday, a special domestic violence unit would almost pay for itself by saving court time by having cases ready to prosecute instead of having a women get up and backtrack after taking a warrant. Plus, domestic violence fines could go to help fund the unit. And, perhaps the biggest upside of such a unit is that maybe some of these hidden cases of spousal abuse could be exposed.

Given the calls we heard during the Winkler trial, there?s no doubt we have a problem when it comes to abuse. The only question is whether the concern will be the flavor of the month, to be forgotten as soon as a new story comes along, or whether this will make a difference.

Whether you think Mary Winkler?s sleeping victim was a abuser or not, let?s all agree to agree that wife beaters are just a half cut above child molesters except, thus far, their crime has been accepted by society.

Duane Sherrill is a reporter for the Standard who can be reached at 473-2191.