See the Triumph
  • Home
  • About Us
  • Blog
  • See the Triumph Collections
  • Participate in Our Research
  • Volunteer with See the Triumph
  • The Origins of See the Triumph
  • About our Research
  • Terms of Use
  • Resources for more Information
  • See the Triumph Workbooks
  • See the Triumph Healing Arts Workshops
  • See the Triumph Survivor Advocacy Training Program
  • Contact Us

Laws that Deny and Dismiss

10/24/2013

 
Picture
By Christine Murray, See the Triumph Co-Founder

I had the privilege of being a speaker on a local community panel last week as part of Domestic Violence Awareness Month. The event had great attendance, and the discussion that unfolded was lively and engaging.

One of the most poignant moments from that panel happened toward the end, when two of the other panelists said that “Assault on a female in this state (North Carolina) is a misdemeanor...and kicking a dog is a felony." As I left the event, I couldn’t help but think how this discrepancy in the law is a manifestation of the stigma surrounding intimate partner violence. That stigma was the initial focus of the research that my colleague, Allison Crowe, and I began a few years ago, and which is the foundation of the See the Triumph campaign.

The first part of the research that we analyzed formally related to the stigma that survivors received from professionals, such as counselors, lawyers, and law enforcement officers. An unanticipated theme that emerged from those analyses was one we labeled, “Dismissed and Denied.” Within this category, we heard themes from survivors that reflected that they felt that their concerns were minimized and not taken seriously when they sought help.

From my perspective, a law that makes it a more serious crime to kick a dog than to assault a female is a systemic manifestation of the Dismissed and Denied theme we heard from our participants. (Note that I believe that abuse of animals is wrong in any form, and this is not to say that those laws should be loosened in any way.)

By placing minimal consequences on violence within an intimate relationship, a message is sent that this form of violence is not taken seriously. Further, it suggests that intimate partner violence is not as serious as other crimes.

Are there laws like this in your area? If you don’t know, you can learn more about federal and state-specific statutes through WomensLaw.org.

I’ll leave you with the following questions:
  • What do you think are the impacts of “Dismissing and Denying” laws for perpetrators of intimate partner violence?
  • What do you think are the impacts of “Dismissing and Denying” laws for victims and survivors of intimate partner violence?

Comments are closed.

    Archives

    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012

    RSS Feed

    Categories

    All
    About Intimate Partner Violence
    About Intimate Partner Violence
    Advocacy
    Ambassadors
    Children
    Churches
    College Campuses
    Cultural Issues
    Domestic Violence Awareness Month
    Financial Recovery
    How To Help A Friend
    Human Rights
    Human-rights
    Immigrants
    International
    Media
    Overcoming Past Abuse
    Overcoming-past-abuse
    Parenting
    Prevention
    Resources For Survivors
    Safe Relationships Following Abuse
    Schools
    Selfcare
    Self-care
    Sexual Assault
    Sexuality
    Social Justice
    Social-justice
    Stigma
    Supporting Survivors
    Survivor Quotes
    Survivor-quotes
    Survivor Stories
    Teen Dating Violence
    Trafficking
    Transformative-approaches

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.
  • Home
  • About Us
  • Blog
  • See the Triumph Collections
  • Participate in Our Research
  • Volunteer with See the Triumph
  • The Origins of See the Triumph
  • About our Research
  • Terms of Use
  • Resources for more Information
  • See the Triumph Workbooks
  • See the Triumph Healing Arts Workshops
  • See the Triumph Survivor Advocacy Training Program
  • Contact Us