The Problem of Domestic Violence

1593 Words4 Pages

When I was exiting Yellowstone National Park, the park ranger at the post asked me what I was doing in Jackson Hole. I explained to him that I was there for the Annual Domestic Violence Conference and he said to me “We have that problem here?” I told him, “That problem is everywhere and actually one in three women will face abuse in one way or another in their lifetime.” I had just learned all of this information from attending this event. I started my role as a Victim Advocate only four days previous to this day. I was not aware of the complete picture of domestic violence but I could relate this phenomena in being part of this statistic. Many people ask me different questions, yet they all are the same, “Does that really happen here that much? We don’t have that problem? Why doesn’t she just leave him?”
When looking at domestic violence and the plausible cause’s one could speculate that this not a new phenomenon but rather something that is newly talked about. Domestic violence has been occurring since the beginning of time. There have been laws stating that women and children were property of a husband or father and this male could do whatever they wanted to with them as they pleased. Property of another means there are no civil rights to speak of and being at the mercy of another. This form of property is closely related to that of slavery. People have only become educated on equality since the 70’s when the Civil Rights Movement occurred. Laws enforcing strict punishment on domestic violence has only really evolved over the last twenty years.
The legal system is lagging in achieving to protect the safety of victims and the public. When one is convicted of domestic violence the possible punishment is for no...

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...ng Legislature. Wyoming Legislative Service Office, n.d. Web. 14 Apr. 2014. .
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NCADV. National Coalition of Domestic Violence, n.d. Web. 14 Apr. 2014. .
“Victim Policy Pipeline” [“Winter 2000”]. The National Center for Victims of Crime. National Center for Victims of Crime, n.d. Web. 14 Apr. 2014. .
“Worland, Wy.” CityData. city-data, n.d. Web. 14 Apr. 2014. .

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