Maria Pappas' Position Paper:

Domestic Violence

 

Domestic violence requires our attention not only in treatment and the appropriate responses by law enforcement, but also in preventative measures to keep the cycle of abuse from plaguing  generations to come. In my campaign for the U.S. Senate campaign, I have been the leading proponent of programs that focus on working with children at the earliest ages. These programs must be our focus, so that our children feel they belong at home and in society and feel they can achieve--before they start school.

 

Throughout my career in family counseling, psychology and family law, I have focused on the health of the family. Building parenting skills creates a chance to prevent children from feeling discouraged and to prevent our children from falling into cycles of poverty and abuse--whether it manifests itself in addictions, domestic violence, dropping out, neglect, or a combination.

 

My career has included:

• working with drug-addicted mothers in Altgeld Gardens
• teaching parenting skills in public housing and in six foreign countries
• working in group and individual therapy as a psychologist and attorney
• supporting programs on the County Board to encourage police to respond assertively to domestic-violence complaints
• supporting the creation of a special prosecution unit that focused solely on domestic violence, replacing a catch-as-catch-can system with one that successfully targeted prosecution
• supporting the evolution of violence prevention and crisis intervention systems at Cook County Hospital
• supporting assault and rape treatment programs that provided counseling as well as reproductive services at Cook County Hospital
• supporting the county board members who are now pushing to creating a more secure and domestic court facility that separates the batterers from the victims

 

No matter the type of abuse (addictive behaviors, neglect or emotional scarring), the root cause lies in power struggles. These struggles reflect the abuser failing to deal appropriately with his or her own senses of powerlessness. Addictions often exacerbate these troubles, and the addict often exerts power recklessly or needlessly over a partner or child through domestic abuse. When this happens, the batterer does the extreme opposite of proper parenting. What often follows is a misbehaving child, who is really a discouraged child. These children are more likely to underachieve, fail or drop out of school, and then fall prey to their own forms of abuses.

 

Washington isn't listening, but I am, and so are parents and educators. A better America starts with focusing on parenting skills and strategies, including full funding of Head Start and Early Head Start. These are ways to help children feel encouraged, to help children feel that they belong, to help children see and realize the opportunities ahead of them.

 

As a nation, we've made progress on domestic abuse in baby steps. Yet deeply disturbing trends remain:

• Approximately 2.1 million women are assaulted or raped each year in America
• Pregnant and recently pregnant women are more likely to die of homicide than any other cause
• Homicide is the second-leading killer of women 15 to 24 (Centers for Disease Control)
• 32 percent of female homicide victims were killed by an intimate partner, compared to 4 percent of male homicide victims (Centers for Disease Control)

 

As a U.S. Senator, I want every victim of domestic violence to be able to obtain protection from physical and emotional harm; to be able to receive treatment; to realize that it is a sign of strength, not weakness, to see the need for help and get it. I will support expanding funding for programs under the federal Violence Against Women Act. We must continue the strategies of apprehension, sentencing, incarcerating and rehabilitating batters.

 

Longer term, we must employ a vision. We must improve screening of mothers and children in our health centers. The CDC acknowledges that we lack clear protocols and guidelines for health professionals to employ. This will be a priority.

 

Again, another key is prevention. We must work with new parents and our youngest children to begin to realize true advancements on this issue.

 

Further, we must be aware of messages we send our children. We must encourage free expression, but also encourage responsibility in the messages we give our children at home, in school, in music lyrics, in video games, on Internet web sites, and yes, even Super Bowl halftime shows.

 

Moreover, as a U.S. Senator, I also will encourage our State Department to emphasize the value of human rights, including efforts to treat and prevent domestic violence. The United States must use its leadership role to exert pressure on other governments to uphold high standards with regard to the rights of women and children.

 

Through all of these efforts, we can and will diminish the scourge that is domestic violence and work not only in reaction mode, but on the prevention side.