Holiday lights are sparkling on trees and shop windows, but the subject was far from jolly at the quarterly meeting of the Coordinated Community Response to Domestic Violence Network in San Rafael last Wednesday.
The team, which formed in 2011 as a result of collaboration between the county District Attorney and the Center for Domestic Peace, brings together the collective experience of law enforcement agencies, county government offices and health and community organizations in order to address and prevent violence within the home.
In Marin, domestic violence is the most common type of violent crime—nearly double the rate of other forms of assault.
“The good news is that other counties may have more violent crime in terms of murder and homicide,” said Marla Hedlund, the development and community relations manager for the Center for Domestic Peace, which was founded in 1977. “We have one of the lowest crime rates in California. But the bad news is that domestic violence occurs at a high rate compared to other crimes.”
As of last week, there were 545 incidents of domestic violence reported in the county this year, according to Ms. Hedlund. The second most common type of violence was non-domestic physical assault, of which 277 incidents were reported in 2014. Sexual assault, child abuse, gang-related crime and elder abuse were the next most common, in that order. Each had fewer than 50 incidents this year. There was only one homicide.
Despite the comparatively high frequency of domestic violence cases, the number of incidents have dropped by 12.8 percent since the Coordinated Community Response Network was formed, according to Marin County District Attorney Ed Berberian.
“Hopefully that’s because we’ve had an impact over the last several years from all the programs we have out there,” he said.
Unfortunately, the task force is particularly busy at this time of year, as the holiday season brings a spike in domestic violence.
“Studies show that there’s an uptick in domestic violence after Thanksgiving, and there’s an uptick after New Year’s Eve,” Ms. Hedlund said. “If you look at a bell curve, the numbers are consistent through the year, while January and December are anomalous.”
But the highest number of calls for services actually come in January, after the holidays are over. According to Ms. Hedlund, many victims feel more pressure to keep the family together at this time of year, so they delay taking action.
“Some people might be calling and saying, ‘I want a safety plan, I want to leave in January, what are my options,” she said. “This doesn’t usually happen overnight—
[the abuse has] happened for years, and they are finally sick of it and want to get out.”
At that point, advocates such as those at the Center for Domestic Peace, West Marin Advocacy and Community Violence Solutions work with victims to develop a plan. This includes helping them figure out practical details, such as what documents to bring and where to go when they leave, as well as evaluating the threat level in the situation.
“We do a lot of lethality assessments, asking, ‘Are there firearms in the house? Is he on drugs? Is he threatening your life? What can you do to protect your children and get out safely?’” Ms. Hedlund said. “Not every woman in Marin is going to need a shelter.”
And it is important to note that while stress can trigger violence in the home, it is not seen as the cause.
Often, both abusers and their victims come from a history of abuse. Men exposed to physical abuse as children are four times more likely than other men to perpetrate domestic violence as adults, according to Deanna Schlau of the San Rafael-based nonprofit Community Violence Solutions. “They just are more likely to grow up to abuse somebody if they have been abused,” she said.
Ms. Hedlund called domestic violence a learned behavior. “It’s not directly caused by economic stress, or drugs and alcohol. It’s kind of just there, but certain situations can tend to bring it out,” she said. “Abusers tend to fall back on what they know, which is this pattern of behavior, and then when stress comes along, then these behaviors come out.”
In other words, the emotional and financial stresses that can be triggered by the holidays don’t cause people to be violent; however, they may cause those with violent tendencies to act on them, or for a low-level situation to intensify.
It is also important to note that while most victims are women and most abusers are men, this is not always the case.
“I often use the term family violence instead of domestic violence because it isn’t just a husband or wife involved,” Mr. Berberian said. “There can be children involved, or siblings battering each other.”
There are many avenues for victims of abuse to seek help in the county. In addition to law enforcement agencies, the three main organizations listed above are available to help victims get out of their situations. That help can include getting a restraining order, court accompaniment and referrals and finding safe housing, support groups, counseling, advocacy and classes. However, no action is taken without the victims’ agreement when they call hotlines.
Now there is a push to adopt a similar victim-empowered protocol by Marin law enforcement, according to Cheryl Paris of the Central Marin Police Department, who is a member of the Marin County Sexual Assault Response Team. At last week’s meeting, Ms. Paris reported on a conference on sexual assault response that was held in New Orleans.
If there is no imminent threat, the goal is to pursue a “belief and empathy-based” method of investigation.
“It is all about, ‘What do you want?’ and letting them think about it and have the support of advocates, so they can make a decision once they are ready,” Ms. Paris said during a presentation at last week’s meeting. “The investigation is tailored to fit the individual’s needs and the circumstances. No arrest is made until the victim is ready to proceed with charges.”
One focus of the District Attorney’s office has been sending advocates out to various places throughout Marin so that people don’t have to come to the Civic Center to get help. “It’s kind of like having a help desk placed out in the community,” Mr. Berberian said. “Some people just don’t like to come to this building.”
He added that these outreach efforts occur less often in West Marin. This is in part because the region has a lower incidence of domestic violence incidents, due to having a lower population overall, Mr. Berberian said.
There are no hard numbers available on how many cases originated in West Marin.
Those experiencing domestic violence can contact 24-hour hotlines, in English at (415) 924.6616 and in Spanish at (415) 924.3456. There is also a 24-hour hotline for men who want to change their behavior at (415) 924.1070.