FAILURE TO REPORT IS AN ACT OF INHUMANITY
New Braintree, MA April 4, 2012 We have learned that domestic violence is highly secretive and consists of an imbalance of power - one spouse believes he or she is the "bomb" and can do whatever he wants. That often includes emotional, physical, and sexual violence. I have proposed in these pages that mandated reporting be the rule. If someone is arrested and convicted of domestic assault there should be a state or local registry on which the names appear of perpetrators of DV. How would this impact society?
GLOBAL CONCERN
The BBC in England has been focusing on DV for the past 12-18 months after a series of numbing cases of DVH. Domestic violence claims the lives of 2 women a week throughout the U.K. "Domestic violence is a particularly dreadful form of abuse and I want us to constantly look at new ways of protecting victims and preventing tragic incidents from happening" according to Theresa May, Home Secretary in the U.K. first published on the BBC in 2011. Akin to the ubiquitous Child Sex Offender registry some believe women should be permitted to contact the local police and ask whether someone they are dating has ever been convicted of domestic violence. If they have they are free to make different decisions about forming a relationship with that person - or not. Claire's Law has been proposed to close the loophole that permits DV offenders to hunt and abuse partners without fear of public scrutiny or social backlash. How would such a registry impact the jobs of perpetrators if they were forced to disclose prior acts of DV?
Obviously this would require a national policy understanding about the negative impact of domestic violence for which people may not prepared. Otherwise someone convicted in Massachusetts would simply move to New Hampshire and be off the hook. Society needs protection to be in place for just such contingencies.
GLOBAL CONCERN
The BBC in England has been focusing on DV for the past 12-18 months after a series of numbing cases of DVH. Domestic violence claims the lives of 2 women a week throughout the U.K. "Domestic violence is a particularly dreadful form of abuse and I want us to constantly look at new ways of protecting victims and preventing tragic incidents from happening" according to Theresa May, Home Secretary in the U.K. first published on the BBC in 2011. Akin to the ubiquitous Child Sex Offender registry some believe women should be permitted to contact the local police and ask whether someone they are dating has ever been convicted of domestic violence. If they have they are free to make different decisions about forming a relationship with that person - or not. Claire's Law has been proposed to close the loophole that permits DV offenders to hunt and abuse partners without fear of public scrutiny or social backlash. How would such a registry impact the jobs of perpetrators if they were forced to disclose prior acts of DV?
Obviously this would require a national policy understanding about the negative impact of domestic violence for which people may not prepared. Otherwise someone convicted in Massachusetts would simply move to New Hampshire and be off the hook. Society needs protection to be in place for just such contingencies.
