Domestic Abuse

Three years ago, Rhonda took back her life when she left her abusive husband and moved into a safe house run by the the Domestic Violence Center of Howard County.Last night at a candlelight vigil for victims of domestic violence, Rhonda lighted a white candle to mark her three-year struggle to build a new life and the struggles of all the others who have suffered with her."I am a new creation, I have renewed my life," Rhonda told the 35 people who assembled at Amherst House in Kings Contrivance village in Columbia for a Celebration of Unity Against Domestic Violence.

When Vera Case was found slain in her Mount Airy home in January, workers at the Domestic Violence Center of Howard County felt a pang of defeat.They wondered how Case, 31, could become the victim of her husband's brutal and jealous rage after center workers spent two decades educating Howard residents about domestic abuse."

In September, the Baltimore Police Department placed Sgt. Lloyd W. Green on administrative leave for slapping his former wife -- 25 years ago.Green's limbo as a police officer might end soon based on a federal court ruling Friday that labeled as unconstitutional a 1996 law prohibiting police officers convicted of a domestic-violence misdemeanor from possessing a gun.The law, introduced by Democratic Sen. Frank R. Lautenberg of New Jersey, resulted in...

The Carroll County state's attorney's domestic violence unit is appealing to businesses and residents for unused cellular phones to afford abuse victims immediate access to police help.Gary Cofflin, special investigator, said the unit has about 100 active domestic violence cases, and the need is great to protect victims from further abuse."We are asking that anyone planning to upgrade a cellular phone to consider donating the old phone to the domestic violence unit," Cofflin said.Even without being activated, a cellular phone can still be used to dial 911, which is a free service, he said.

When women go to a hospital in Maryland, along with the routine queries about family history and medicinal allergies, they may soon hear another question: Have you ever been the victim of domestic abuse?The question has been asked of all female patients as young as 14 in three state hospitals as part of a pilot project started in 1995. The hospitals say they have been able to identify hundreds of women who otherwise might have fallen through the cracks. Many have gotten help.Maryland health officials hope to get it on the routine query list of all state hospitals.

Police officers and prosecutors in 32 jurisdictions across the state will have another weapon in the battle against domestic violence, courtesy of federal funding: instant photographs to document the damage done by an abuser.Police, prosecutors and Lt. Gov. Kathleen Kennedy Townsend gathered yesterday at Maryland State Police headquarters in Pikesville to announce the distribution of 400 Polaroid Spectra cameras and film to law enforcement. The announcement was followed by a training session for about two dozen officers who will use the $250 cameras when they respond to domestic-violence calls.

Domestic violence is one of the most common calls a police officer can get. But with a frequency that alarms Baltimore police commanders, those paid to protect are also on the attack, charged in sometimes brutal assaults on wives and girlfriends.The Sun has found in a review of abuse cases throughout the region that no department is untouched by criminal complaints of domestic assault and battery.In Baltimore, the number of abuse cases -- at least 45 officers are implicated -- has prompted the department to obtain a federal grant to help figure out why so many are accused of breaking the law.Despite the city's heightened attempt to deal with the problem, few officers have been convicted and thrown off the force -- often because victims refuse to testify or serious charges are plea-bargained down to help an officer keep his job."

Urging legislators to adopt a policy of "zero tolerance" toward domestic abuse, House Speaker Casper R. Taylor Jr. made a personal plea yesterday for passage of a package of bills intended to protect victims of violence in the home.Taylor testified before the House Judiciary Committee in Annapolis on a topic that has been page-one news for much of the past week."We must send a strong message," he said. "The message must be heard by offenders, victims, law enforcement, the courts and all the citizens of Maryland.

Howard County's state legislators rejected a plan yesterday that would have fined people convicted of domestic abuse up to $250, with the money going to prevention and education programs.Sen. Martin G. Madden, a Clarksville Republican who sponsored the bill, said it would have created a steady funding source for the fight against domestic violence.The fine would have been in addition to criminal punishments.But other members of the delegation noted that the state has no specific criminal charge titled "domestic abuse."

A teen-ager opens the townhouse door to two police officers. Tears speckle her smooth cheeks. She points to the staircase behind her and says, "Thank God you've come. They're up there fighting again."Such scenes are increasingly familiar to Howard County police, who recorded more than 900 incidents of domestic violence last year -- a figure that shot up 19 percent from 1995.That's at least one domestic call per shift for most Howard patrol officers. And as any county officer will say, these calls have a way of getting ugly fast.

At the age of 9, April Haines witnessed the death of her mother at the hands of a drunken boyfriend. "It happened when my brother and sister were in the house," she recalled decades later. "My brother was trying to fight him off, stop him, and he hurt him, too. They took her away, she went into a coma, and I never saw her again." The murder of a parent by an abusive spouse or domestic partner is a devastating event in the lives of families and children that inflicts psychological wounds that never fully heal.

As a researcher of domestic abuse against women in the U.S. and globally, I wasn't surprised when a survey last week linked the economic downturn to an upswing in domestic violence. I've seen time and again the brutal connection between financial stress and violence against women. Financial stress does not cause domestic violence, but can make a bad situation worse. And the new report highlights the ongoing, and largely ignored, problem of domestic abuse, a major public health problem for women everywhere.

We've said it before and we'll say it again: Firearms and domestic violence don't mix. So why is the Maryland Senate trying to wreck a bill intended to protect victims of abuse by tacking on an amendment that would keep guns on the table in domestic violence cases? This is cynical politics at its worst. The bill, sponsored by Gov. Martin O'Malley, would require judges to confiscate firearms from partners who are under final restraining orders as a result of domestic violence. The rationale is obvious: Given the explosive nature of abusive relationships, the presence of any firearm can quickly turn deadly.

As the economy spirals downward, domestic abuse appears to be increasing around the region and the country, advocates and shelter officials say. "We are clearly seeing an increase in the number of people who are looking for help," says Carole Alexander, executive director of the House of Ruth Maryland, which runs a shelter in Northeast Baltimore. The shelter, which has 84 beds, is packed; Every night, seven or eight people sleep on couches and in sleeping bags in the building's offices.

BANGOR, Maine -- The new customer slipped into Janie B. Good's hair salon cautiously, as if worried that someone might see her. She was only in her 30s, but fear had etched tight lines in her face. Nervous, she told Good: "Don't cut off too much. He doesn't like my hair short." It's your hair, Good started to tell the young woman whose tresses draped down over her shoulders. But as the client had leaned back for a shampoo, Good noticed bruises on her neck. Easing her fingers across her scalp, Good felt bumps that could have come only from being struck.

In a community that takes pride in strong women and nurturing families, Jewish leaders say it has not been easy to acknowledge the reality of domestic violence and abuse in their midst. But about 400 activists, survivors of abuse and religious leaders from all branches of the faith gathered in Baltimore this week to acknowledge that Jews share the ills that afflict the rest of society. And they extended helping hands to one another to increase awareness and tackle the problem. "Ten years ago, domestic violence was not on the Jewish agenda, period," said Rabbi Tzvi Hersh Weinreb, executive vice president of the Orthodox Union and a former spiritual leader at Baltimore's Shomrei Emunah Congregation.

Anne Arundel County officials began participation yesterday in a national program intended to collect unwanted wireless phones, refurbish them and donate them to victims of domestic abuse. The goal is to gather 300 wireless phones from nine collection centers around the county through April 30. The effort is being jump-started by a donation of 25 phones - complete with limited emergency service - from Nextel Communications Inc. and Motorola Inc. "Victims of domestic violence feel themselves in danger," said State's Attorney Frank R. Weathersbee, who joined with Sheriff George F. Johnson IV to announce participation in the Call to Protect program.

Anne Arundel County officials began participation yesterday in a national program intended to collect unwanted wireless phones, refurbish them and donate them to victims of domestic abuse. The goal is to gather 300 wireless phones from nine collection centers around the county through April 30. The effort is being jump-started by a donation of 25 phones from Nextel Communications Inc. and Motorola Inc. "Victims of domestic violence feel themselves in danger," said State's Attorney Frank R. Weathersbee, who joined with Sheriff George F. Johnson IV to announce participation in the Call to Protect program.

Making their point with a video presentation that opened with children's drawings in crayon and closed with graphic photos of battered women, organizers of a conference on domestic abuse last week in Westminster said Carroll County needs a secure shelter for victims of abuse. Pastors, social workers and criminal investigators who gathered Friday at the event addressed what they said is a growing domestic violence problem in the county and called creating a shelter the most pressing need.

The Domestic Violence Program of the Family and Children's Services of Central Maryland will establish a lending library at its Woodlawn office to provide educational and self-help resources for low-income victims of domestic violence. The library, which will be open next month, is to be funded by a $10,000 grant from the Maryland attorney general's office. The Domestic Violence Program of the Family and Children's Services of Central Maryland has been serving victims of domestic violence since 1984.